Dark Days, Dusty Dreams
by Sirithiliel
Summary: Zim has finally thought of the perfect way to stop Dib from interfering. But Dib may find that Zim’s plans are the least of his problems…
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Truthfully, I never would have thought up Invader Zim. So…no, I do not own.

Summary: Zim has finally thought of the perfect way to stop Dib from interfering. Cliché idea, but mine has a twist. Dib isn't going to stop trying, even as he tries to find a way to reverse what Zim did to him.

'_thought'_

"speech"

-0-0- is a scene/character jump

Chapter 1

Zim sat on the couch, tapping a claw idly on the arm as he thought over his latest plan's failure. What had gone wrong? Setup…executed with his usual genius. Secrecy…the humans never noticed, as if they ever would. Materials…everything was in place and ready to go.

But the one thing he had overlooked…

Dib.

Dib had ruined everything! Again! _'Something has to be done_.' Zim mused. "But what?" he muttered out loud, stopping his tapping to run a hand over his antennae in frustration. He has tried killing the annoying human-filth. Hypnotize? Tried it. Mind wipe, failed. Go back in time and kill him, miserable results. Transform him? Did it and it backfired. Stupid bologna.

Zim sighed. That plan had been brilliant too. It had been executed without fail, worked perfectly, and seemed that it would be a victory for Zim! But then Dib had thought up of revenge, and turned the tables back to an even score by using the same trick on Zim! Underhanded, filthy, conniving human!

He was the only human to see through his disguise, the only one to try and stop him. He was given abuse and ridicule by his fellow human-filth, and yet he still persisted to save a world that hated him. He showed an immensely stubborn will, and a loyalty that was beyond the norm from what Zim could see. He could pass for an Irken if he tried, Zim admitted with grudging respect.

Zim's claw stopped its tap in mid-tap, and his antennae stood up in sudden shock.

Hmm…if he used the same method he had done for the bologna, only with slightly different DNA…say…Irken DNA…

A wicked smile slowly began spreading across Zim's face. He emitted a low chuckle. Oh, this was the grandest idea yet! If it worked, Dib would be out of his hair…er…antennae! He would be unable to expose Zim, because doing so would expose himself as an alien! He couldn't go to that stupid Eye group with proof, or his father, because he would be giving himself over to them as another alien specimen to be experimented on!

Oh, ho ho! This was rich! The perfect plan to be rid of his annoying enemy, or at least seriously hinder his ability to affect Zim's wonderful plans of world dominance!

And, in a way, he was doing his worthy enemy a favor. He was going to remove him from that filthy human body, into the far superior body of an Irken! Sure, Dib will act all horrified and angered, would demand a cure or some stupid thing. Not that Zim would do so, oh no. He had to admit that Dib was superior to his filthy human fellows, though he was still inferior to the grand Zim! And as such, maybe he should do something nice for the human that would anger and horrify him, and would benefit Zim tremendously.

Yes, yes, it is the perfect plan! Another marvelous plan for Zim! And this time, Dib was not going to ruin it. And he will be unable to reverse it and go back to his annoying self. With a mad cackle that had Gir peeking out from the kitchen where he was cooking up some more of that nasty human food, Zim leaped up and charged to his lab.

It was time to start!

-0-0-

Dib woke up Monday morning as he usually did, got dressed, and ran downstairs to try and claim a bowl of cereal before Gaz took it and made him go without breakfast again.

Eating quickly and dashing upstairs to get his pack, he was about ready to go when Gaz shouted for him to hurry up and get down there or she was going to give him a wrathful doom that he would not survive from.

Not wanting to anger his volatile sister any further, he ran down and hurried after her as she left.

School, however, was not something worth rushing too, in Dib's opinion as he sat in class and listened to Mrs. Bitters drone on, and on, and on. He glanced sharply to the side when he felt eyes burning into him.

Zim.

The infuriating alien gave a slow, wicked grin that put Dib on edge, but he hid it well and narrowed his eyes right back, giving one of his best glares.

Zim merely widened his grin, before turning his eyes to the front of the room.

Dib knew, without a doubt: He was up to something.

And he was going to find out what.

-0-0-

End first chapter.

There will be more, even if nobody likes the story. : D it has been stuck in my head for a while, and I want to get it out. This is not a romance, yaoi, slash, or whatever you want to call it. I do not know how often I can update, as I'm in college and finals are coming up. But I will try. I'm on a block with my other stories, so if you read those, I'm sorry, but they are currently on hold.

You could say this is a horribly cliché plot line. Maybe it is. But I like the idea of a Irken Dib, I think it's a blast. And mine is different than the others, as far as I know when Dib is a Irken, he winds up joining Zim on his quest to rule the world. No, mine is different. Dib is going to continue to fight Zim, even as he tries to cure himself, and avoid detection that he is an alien as well. And that includes from his family, since his father probably would lock him up as well. So…there. My storyline, all laid out nice and pretty for you readers. The end is a secret that the plot muses have not decided to tell me yet.

Hope you stay for the next chapter after my rant.

Sirithiliel


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Truthfully, I never would have thought up Invader Zim. So…no, I do not own.

Summary: Zim has finally thought of the perfect way to stop Dib from interfering. Cliché idea, but mine has a twist. Dib isn't going to stop trying, even as he tries to find a way to reverse what Zim did to him.

'_thought'_

"speech"

-0-0- is a scene/character jump

Chapter 2

As soon as the bell rang Zim was out of the classroom and running towards his 'home'. Dib, seeing him book it out of the room, was instantly suspicious and took off after him, trench coat flying behind him as he dodged students who were mindlessly heading off into their boring, routine lives.

So close…Dib was catching up, having longer legs than the Irken. So close…Zim glanced over his shoulder, a slight annoyed look coming over his face.

"No! Dib-filth is going to ruin everything. I must've looked suspicious somehow! I do not know how, as I am Zim! Master of deception! But, enough of that, how do I get him distracted? It will be another day at least until I have everything ready!" Zim hissed under his breath, dodging a large, fat kid waddling towards the buses.

Dib was grinning wickedly. Zim could not get away! He was not going to get away!

And then…

…a foot…

WHOMP!!!!

With a loud 'oof!', Dib landed flat on the ground, his momentum carrying him a few feet forwards. Dazed, and angered at the smug look Zim shot him before the alien disappeared around the corner, Dib looked up into the eyes of his sister. Or, rather, he looked up to see her playing her ever constant game.

"Where are you going in such a hurry? Don't you know we have to go meet Dad after school?" Gaz ground out, her voice irritated. But never once did she look up from her game.

"But…Zim…" Dib tried, pointing weakly in the direction Zim had disappeared to while Gaz began to drag him home with the back of his jacket. Dib struggled to his feet, but Gaz did not let up, keeping a firm hold on her errant brother to stop him from disappearing on her.

"No. Forget it, idiot. We are going to meet Dad. He's going to take us out to dinner, and he never does that except on family night! And since we already had it for this year, this makes this special. Now, we are going!" with that, she gave a especially hard yank to get her point across, before releasing her brother and began to play her game once more.

Sighing in disappointment, and casting one last longing look in the direction of Zim's house, Dib hung his head and kicked a empty can into the gutter.

He'll just have to try later tonight, or tomorrow maybe.

Hmm…tomorrow would give him more time to prepare, and give him time to scope out and make sure that whatever Zim was up to did not have a trap for him involved in it. Yes, he had learned his lesson from the last few times he tried to stop Zim's evil plans and ended up being captured. The first time he had been saved by Gaz, the second time had been pure chance he had escaped, although he had been stuck in that time warp until it was canceled.

Yes, tomorrow after school he will find out what that bothersome Invader was up to!

-0-0-

Zim heaved a sigh of relief as he shut his house door behind him. If The Dib had followed him, and started trying to spy on him, then his excellent plan may have been compromised before it had even gotten off the ground! And that would have been unacceptable.

"Master! You're home!" Gir screeched, latching onto his master's leg and nuzzling him.

"Gir, get off me! I have important work to get done, and it has to be done by tomorrow!!" Zim howled, shaking his leg in an attempt to get his 'advance' robot off of him.

"Ooh! Can I help?" Gir cried, releasing his leg and bouncing around.

Zim sighed, rubbing his temples with one hand as he removed his contacts and wig with the other.

"No."

"Aw, please?" The look Gir gave him made him shudder, and he spun around and marched towards the toilet that would take him to his lab.

"Fine. Stake out the base, make sure Dib-filth is not going to try and spy on my secret plans. You got that?" he turned on his heel and pointed at the robot.

Cyan eyes became red as Gir went 'duty mode' and snapped a smart salute.

"Yes'sir!"

Red eyes faded to cyan and Gir was off and running to do Gir-like things.

Zim shook his head and went to the lab.

"Now, let's see…Computer! Give me status report on the experimental DNA concoction that was started last night!" Zim commanded, sitting back and tenting his fingers together, narrowing his eyes as stats and numbers began to roll across the screen.

"Concoction is at 97 efficiency rating." The computer answered.

"Is it compatible with human DNA?" Zim asked. He would really like his brilliant plan to work, not just so that Dib will be distracted and too busy to bother Zim, but also because the pure irony of the plan was so delicious! The pitiful human-filth was about to become the very thing he was seeking to destroy!

But if he died from incompatibility it wouldn't be a shame either.

"Affirmative."

Ah, so it will not kill him at least. Now, for the crucial question:

"Computer, will the concoction convert The Dib's DNA into Irken, completely and totally?" His eyes narrowed further.

"…"

There was silence, other than the constant hum of machinery, as the computer processed his question and ran tests and calculated results.

"…Affirmative."

Zim leapt up from his chair, whooping. It was going to work! It was really going to! He began to laugh, the cackle echoing through the large base.

Oh, Dib was going to get a surprise tomorrow…

-0-0-

Dib wanted nothing more than to bash his head repeatedly into the table. His sister had her game out, as always, and occasionally would stop to take a bite of pizza. His father was talking to one of his underlings, giving instructions for the next day's busy schedule.

This is how family night was. They would get together, go to Bloaty's pizza, and then ignore each other as they did their own thing.

Dib did not like it.

Sure, he liked being around his dad. He wanted his father's respect. Hell, he'd stand for his father's acknowledgement right now! He was tired of being ignored by his father, pushed around by his sister, and taunted at school.

But what could he do about it? All those things happened because he was the way he was, and he was not about to change who he is just to have people treat him differently. He refused to lower himself that much. He had pride, for crying out loud!

WHAM!

Whoops, it seems he had done what he had been wanting to do, and now he had a sore forehead to deal with.

His father glanced up, then went back to his conversation. Gaz ignored him completely.

With a heavy sigh, Dib rested his arms on the grimy table and put his head down on them. Was the night over yet?

-0-0-

School! Dib shot out of bed. He was late, he was late! Grabbing his glasses, he snagged his bag and ran, not bothering to get anything for breakfast. He was going to be late!

Gaz hadn't even bothered to make sure he was awake, she had just left without him. With a low growl of annoyance, Dib ran his fastest towards the school.

Sliding into the classroom just as the bell rang, Mrs. Bitters glared at him as he took his seat, panting for breath.

Zim gave a low snicker, a grin stretching unbidden across his face, revealing his semi-sharp teeth. Today was the day…

Dib, once again, began to zone out as Mrs. Bitters gave one of her lectures. He idly doodled a ghost in the margin of his paper, but stopped when he felt eyes on him. Again. Glancing about, he spotted the culprit.

Just as he had thought: Zim.

Zim gave a broad grin, and it was as clear as the sun outside the classroom that the Invader was up to something. Dib growled, crumpling his notes without meaning to as he considered the possibilities of what it could mean that Zim was so smug right now.

Did he have a plan that he had already put into motion while Dib was stuck with Gaz and his father? Something that he couldn't fix since he had been too late to find out?

No…the look said something else. There was something sly there, in those fake eyes of his. Something that said 'I know something you don't know, but you are going to find out very, very soon, and you are not going to like it…'

…Yes. That is what it was saying.

Lunch went by, with both Zim and Dib maintaining eye contact, a smug look on Zim and Dib glaring as hard as he could to intimidate the Invader. Gaz, ignoring the tension from her brother, played her game, stopping occasionally to eat a spoonful of slop.

It seems that all she ever did was play her games, eat, or watch tv. Did she even sleep? _'No! Not supposed to be musing on that!'_ Dib thought, mentally focusing on Zim again.

After lunch, class went by with the two still shooting each other looks. Ooh, Dib was filled with anxiety. Something was up, and he was going to find out whatever hair-brained scheme Zim had come up with this time and stop it!

Zim, however, was enjoying just how much of a rise he was getting out of the human-filth just by staring and grinning at him. Dib-beast was going to get what was coming to him, alright.

The bell rang and once again, Zim blasted out the door and towards his house, just like he had the day before.

And, just like the day before, Dib was hot on his tail, and this time Gaz was not going to get in his way and stop him!

Dib did not realize how much he was going to wish that she did stop him…

-0-0-

End Chapter

Well, thanks to those who reviewed/favorited/watched this story. :D you make me feel loved.

Alright, so maybe the idea is not cliché, per se. Not many people have actually written about it, maybe about three or four. But the idea is not new, lots of people have done fan art on it, or have presented ideas about it. And the majority of those ended up with Dib joining Zim in his quest.  now I, for one, would never see Dib doing that randomly, out of the blue. So, I always thought of a story where he didn't. and here it is.

Hmm, and, according to some readers, I need to put in more details and descriptions. I hope I have successfully fulfilled your wishes, as I have tried to put in more. This is my first Invader Zim story, so I might make a few mistakes. Okay, enough ramble. Thanks to all who have reviewed and such, and I hopefully will have the next chapter up soon!


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Truthfully, I never would have thought up Invader Zim. So…no, I do not own.

Summary: Zim has finally thought of the perfect way to stop Dib from interfering. But Dib isn't going to stop trying, even as he tries to find a way to reverse what Zim did to him.

'_thought'_

"speech"

-0-0- is a scene/character jump

Chapter 3

Zim ran straight to his house and disappeared inside.

Dib, however, was not a fool. He knew better than to try and barge right into Zim's lair unprepared and without scouting out first. But he had come prepared!

Opening his bag, he took out his equipment and began his scouting mission. The windows were dark, so maybe Zim had taken refuge down in his lab…

Sneaking closer, Dib went around the entire house, and finally gave a large grin. Zim wanted him to come inside, that much was obvious by his behavior. Well, he'll just have to surprise Zim! He wasn't going to fall for the obvious trap!

Oh no, he was going to wait until it grew dark, and Zim would think he wasn't coming. Then, he could sneak in through the window, avoiding the gnomes at great cost. If he was stealthy enough, he could do it. He had done it before. And then, he would not take the trash can down, as he had done before. Instead, he would take the table entrance that he had seen the dog-robot use. That would surely surprise Zim!

Snickering, he crouched in a hiding place in the next door neighbor's yard to wait for dark.

-0-0-

Zim, meanwhile, was indeed down in his lab. He sat in his chair; Gir perched on the back of it, laughing victoriously as he raised a small object into the air.

"Look, Gir! The secret to my success in this plan!" he proclaimed. He held in his hand a small tack, with small glowing red lights on it.

"But master…you tried that before, didn't you?" Gir asked, in one of his rare moments of lucidity.

"Yes, Gir, I did. But at that time, it wasn't the method of getting the cells into The Dib that failed, it was what happened after! No, this method worked so well the first time, why not do it again? Besides, he won't be expecting a similar trick as the first one from me!" Zim crowed, laughing.

"OK. I want a cookie." Gir said, and took off, leaving Zim to mutter to himself about the magnificent plan he had come up with.

"Dib-beast should be getting in here soon, if I have learned anything about him." Zim said, giving a sharp grin as he headed towards the lift.

-0-0-

And indeed he was right!

Dib had slipped past the gnomes, and was currently congratulating himself on his upgrade in sneaky-skills as he began to open the window.

Carefully and quietly he crept inside the dark house, glancing back and forth anxiously, his camera at the ready.

Little did he know that Zim knew he was there, and was quite prepared for him.

Dib walked quietly through the living room, heading towards the lift. As he got close, the desk flipped up and out came that little robot!

"Huh?" It turned a curious gaze onto him. Then its eyes snapped red. "Intruder!" it cried, going into a battle stance.

Surprised, Dib backed up and ended up tripping and falling back.

"What are you doing in my lair, pitiful human?" Zim cried out, suddenly appearing near him as he ran out of the toilet chute.

Dib cursed. He was caught! Getting up and whirling around, he took off. But not before Zim was able to get close enough to launch a blow that took Dib by surprise. Normally their battles did not come to physical blows, though some did.

Whatever Zim had hit him with, it stung. He shook it off and disappeared out of the window, Zim's threats echoing behind him.

-0-0-

Back at the base, Zim gave a satisfied smirk as he surveyed the sharp object held in his palm. He had gotten Dib good with it, and if it worked the way it was supposed to, by three days he would start feeling the effects.

Two days after those three days would be the day Zim would have to help his enemy again, for by that day Dib will start being more Irken than human, and would need a Pak to survive on Earth.

Now, Zim could refuse to help, and just let him die. But where would the fun in that be? Oh no, he wanted to see that infuriating human drown in his anguish as he realizes he is what he seeks to destroy, and any person he might have gone to for help would gladly put him on the autopsy table instead of Zim.

Yes, he would be kind to his enemy. Actually, he has so far been nothing but kind! Dib now is going to be Irken, a great honor for anyone! Of course, Dib will not see it that way, but he will learn! He will learn when the human-filth of Earth continue to ignore and reject him!

Zim snickered as he went down to the labs again.

It would be rather amusing if The Dib decided that he couldn't take the isolation and abuse anymore, and came to Zim for help. Yes, it would be rich indeed if Dib-beast turned on his old, uncaring Earth and aided Zim in the conquest of this disgusting planet!

But Zim knew that was highly unlikely, unless a large amount of persuading and maybe a mind wipe or two were involved. Hmm…he might have to keep those in mind for later, if Dib proves to still be a nuisance even after his change has completed.

Well, all will be proven in time. Meanwhile, he should get started on the Pak he was planning on giving to Dib. Zim wanted to make some special modifications to it…

Once again, his laugh rang through the metal pipes and machinery that lurked under the deceptive house.

-0-0-

The days passed, Tuesday became Wednesday, then Thursday. On Friday, however, the last day of class before Spring Break, Dib woke up feeling rather…odd. Not really ill, but just…wrong. As if something was not right.

He frowned. Could Zim have done something to him? No, the young paranormal investigator had been keeping a watchful eye on Zim for the past two days to see if he was going to take revenge on Dib for his break in on the base.

But Zim had just grinned coldly, with that same 'I know something you don't know' look in his eyes.

Dib walked with Gaz to school, and mused over his symptoms. Light headed, which made him dizzy. A weird, not-quite-pain in his gut, and an ache in his bones that felt like he was going through a growth spurt. Maybe this was normal and he actually was?

Maybe.

With a sigh, and a shake of his head to clear it, Dib went to class as the bell rang, and once again started his glaring match with Zim.

-0-0-

Spring Break at long last!

Dib heaved a relieved sigh. No school for a whole week! That meant plenty of time to observe Zim, stop Zim's evil plans, try to get evidence of Zim's alien form, and prove the next door neighbor's ferret was actually a vampire changing his shape to fool the humans into a false sense of security.

Yes, it was going to be an enjoyable spring break!

That is, if he would stop feeling so weird. Actually, this has gone past weird, and was bordering on scary. He was having problems with many things. And the ache in his bones and his gut were getting worse. Maybe he was getting sick, like he had first thought? Dib looked in his mirror in the bathroom, and noted that he was looking a little green. Leaning closer to the glass showed that his eyes were odd, the pupils shrunk so far as to be pinpoints, with the normal amber color of his eyes seeming larger than ever.

Yes, he must be sick. He was feeling rather tired, as well. Shrugging, he decided to turn in early, and so he crawled into his bed and closed his aching eyes, deciding a nap would be the best thing for him and whatever mysterious illness was plaguing him.

However, his sleep was broken later that night. Jerking up at the sound he had heard, he pulled his hurting body out of bed and began to search, remembering at the last minute to pull his glasses on. Throwing his trench coat on, he realized he had fallen asleep in his clothes.

No matter…there! The sound again! It was out in the hallway…

Narrowing his eyes, he reached for his door handle and, taking a deep breath, yanked the door open.

Nothing, nothing but empty hallway.

Sighing, he turned around to go back to bed.

"Hello, Dib."

Letting out a loud yelp of surprise, Dib jumped backwards into his closed door. Zim stood mere feet before him, grinning that smug grin of his.

"What are you doing here, alien scum?" Dib hissed, eyes narrowed.

Zim, however, just eyed him up and down, examining his green-tinted skin, the obvious fact of his eye color being more prominent than before.

"I am here to give you something, Dib-filth." Zim said calmly, and pulled what seemed to be a similar contraption to the one he was already wearing out from behind his back.

"What? Why? What kind of trap is this?" Dib growled, eyeing the thing warily. It had to be at trap. This just screamed trap! But…alien technology…he could examine it and finally have proof…but why would Zim give him something that he knew Dib would use against him?

"Trap? No trap. Can I not be nice once in a while?" Zim asked innocently. He scrutinized Dib's appearance, and tried to hold down a smirk. The concoction was progressing nicely, and soon Dib will need the Pak. Not yet, but who knows how fast it might progress? It was already farther along than the computer had estimated! Just goes to show that the superior Irken DNA is conquering the weak human DNA without much resistance, as it should be!

"No." Dib answered immediately, going into a more defensive stance, eyes narrowed.

"Well, fine then. Accept it or don't, it does not matter to me." Zim lied, grinning. He knew that temptation and curiosity would make Dib look at the Pak, and examine it. He also knew that when Dib was at the stage where the Pak was needed to keep him alive, that it would be there. He also knew that Dib would not show anyone the Pak until he had finished examining it himself, and by that time he would be Irken, and any attempts to show somebody would bring about his own doom!

Dib was too easy to predict sometimes.

Zim tossed the Pak onto Dib's bed, and vanished out the window before Dib could say anything.

Muttering under his breath about crazy aliens, Dib cautiously approached the Pak, expecting it to blow up in his face at any moment.

Nothing happened.

Now more curious than cautious, Dib picked it up and began looking at it.

It was what it seemed, a Irken Pak. So…why would Zim do this?

Curious and suspicious, Dib did not sleep much that night, nor the next two nights. Not just because of the Pak, but for a far more sinister reason.

He was getting worse.

-0-0-

Dib woke up the next morning, and practically screamed in shock.

He could see…he didn't have his glasses on, but he could see! Oh, how he could see! He could see better than he ever could before.

Leaping out of bed, he got a flash of vertigo and stumbled, throwing his hands out to catch himself. But he did not get up…he was staring at his hands.

His hands…they were different…three fingers, and there was a definite green color to his skin.

Now freaking out, he staggered to his feet and ran into the bathroom. His eyes widened at the sight of himself.

His eyes…they were solid orbs of amber, and glinted strangely in the harsh lighting of his bathroom.

They were like Zim's eyes…

He was definitely green, and out of his hair…were antennae. It was hard to tell at first, but the odd feelings and…stuff he heard/smelled was obviously coming from them. One was crooked up, arching back to blend in with his scythe of hair. The other lay lower, running flat with the rest of his hair.

And now, with Dib becoming an alien, he was going to need a life supporting-Pak as well.

He would need the Pak…but that might be soon, or later, and by then, it might be too late to change himself back…

And he would of course attempt to reverse this. He was NOT going to be an alien! But going to the Swollen Eye was out…they would do to him what he had threatened to do with Zim! His father was another strike-out. He would just experiment on him like had been planning to do to Gaz when she got the pig-curse.

He knew it was an awful thing to think about one's own father, but he couldn't lie about his dad's behavior. If he got discovered by his father, he would not get any help. He will be put into that big glass box that Gaz was put into, and held for tests.

Well! He would worry about how to reverse it in a moment. First things first…he needed to disguise himself. He was not going to let himself get caught because of a stupid mistake like not disguising himself!

But how? He did not have the advance alien Irken technology that Zim did! His father may have something…but he would have to go down to the labs to find out, and that would mean running into his father, and that would be disastrous! No, he needed a temporary disguise until he could find something more efficient down in his father's lab.

"DIB!!" a loud knock sounded on the door.

It was Gaz! Dib began to panic. She could not see him like this, she'll tell dad! Or…she probably won't even notice. If she had her game…then she wouldn't pay any attention…and he could slip past to his room. That could work…

"Are you done yet?" She growled through the door, and Dib gulped. His antenna that was arched like his hair flattened next to the other one subconsciously as he cringed away from his fierce sister's voice.

"I'm done, I'm done! Now…just…back up and turn away so I don't hit you with the door!" He said, and flung the door open and dashed to his room while his sister just stood there with an eyebrow arched.

"You're insane," she muttered, walking in and slamming the door.

Dib panted heavily, leaning against his bedroom door. That was close. Now, to find a temporary disguise…

His right antennae arched back up to what seemed to be its normal position as he paced, thinking deeply on the subject. What could he do? His antennae were easy enough to hide, he just had to keep them close to his hair and they blended in perfectly. His green skin…he could just say he was feeling ill. But his eyes? How would he hide his eyes? He didn't own any contacts…

His eyes widened. The X-scope! The one he had used to catch Zim in the act of stealing the organs of the students! It covered his eyes, and no one would think it strange for him to have them…

Snatching them off his desk, he slipped them on and took off down the stairs, heading to the lab.

Once down there, he walked as quietly as he could towards the shelves that his father stored his various experiments and stuff on.

"Son? What are you doing down here?"

Dib froze in mid-step, his antennae flattening again. Dang, he was caught! He could salvage this, though. His father had told him where the nano-ship was when he needed it; maybe he could save himself a lot of valuable time by having his father point out some sort of thing for him!

He spun around, and hoped his father wouldn't question the scope covering his eyes.

"Hey, dad. I was, uh…looking for a portable holographic projector. Do we have one?" he asked in a rush, barely resisting the urge to reach up and forcefully hold his antennae still as they quirked and quivered to the slightest sound. If they kept this up, they might give him away!

Thankfully, his father did not notice them, but merely walked over to one of his desks and picked up a small, blinking object on a long chain.

"Here you go, son! Now be careful, it's a prototype!"

Dib took it from his father, and eyed it carefully. It was small enough to be able to be secretive and functional.

It was perfect!

"How does it work?" He asked.

"You put a cell sample into the small compartment here," and the professor pointed to a small hatch on the back of the mechanism. "And it will project a flawless, perfect, and utterly convincing image of whatever you had put in there!" he proclaimed triumphantly. When he looked back down, Dib was gone.

"Perfect!" Dib exclaimed excitedly as he ran back up to his room.

Wait…a flaw in his wonderful plan…

It required a cell sample! He couldn't use one of his cell samples, as they were partially Irken now! And that would be worthless, as it would project an image of how Dib was now, which would defeat the purpose.

Ah! A solution! Dib leaped up and ran to the bathroom, digging out his hairbrush. A normal, human-Dib hair would be on the brush…and would be the perfect cell sample!

Pulling free a strand, he carefully placed it in the back of the holographic projector. He placed two fingers on either side of the blinking oval, and pinched, pushing the two buttons that were there.

There was a flash of light, and then a beam of light began to form, and slowly it took the shape of Dib, in his normal human form.

"Perfect," Dib hissed, before blinking and flinching at the…Zim-ness of how he had sounded.

Growling, he placed the holographic projector around his neck, and turned to look at himself in the mirror.

Finally! He looked normal! Wait…normal, human looking eyes narrowed behind holographic glasses as he spotted one of his antennae poking up through the holographic image of himself.

Hmm…a complication. He raised his arms, and the holograph still covered him, mimicking his moves. But his antennae…his hologram did not have them, and so had nothing to cover them with. He'll have to hide them in his hair, but he'll have to find a way to keep them there, since they were apparently prone to moving on their own.

Flattening them in his hair with a conscious force of will, he examined himself in the mirror again. Hmm…fiddling with a few of the small controls, Dib made the hologram mimic his normal clothes, and made the glasses a bit rounder. There! He looked like his human self.

Smirking to himself, he snickered at the thought that he had just made a better disguise with human technology than Zim had with his 'superior' Irken technology.

Ohh, he couldn't wait to see Zim's expression when he entered class looking like normal. Maybe he'll confront Dib and attempt to find out how he did it, and maybe even spill how to reverse the effect for real!

Laughing in victory, he turned to his computer to start some research to see if he couldn't find a possible cure on his own.

-0-0-

End chapter.

Once again, thanks to all reviewers and readers!

Sorry, no big rant for you this time. shrug. Not much to comment on right now. Oh, if you care to see a picture I have drawn of Irk-Dib with his spider legs, go to and search for 'Sirithiliel', and it should be in my gallery.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Truthfully, I never would have thought up Invader Zim. So…no, I do not own.

Summary: Zim has finally thought of the perfect way to stop Dib from interfering. But Dib isn't going to stop trying, even as he tries to find a way to reverse what Zim did to him.

'_thought'_

"speech"

-0-0- is a scene/character jump

Chapter4

Groaning under his breath, Dib resisted the urge to bang his head against the desk. He was feeling worse, his insides were twisting on themselves. And he still wasn't any closer to finding a cure.

He was having difficulty breathing, and he feared that soon he would have to use the Pak to continue living…and then it would be even more difficult to cure himself. He had come to think of the time to use the Pak as a way of crossing from being mostly-human to mostly-Irken.

And that scared him.

The air…it seemed heavy…hard to get enough into his lungs…or whatever Irkens had for lungs.

The Pak…where did he place it? Suddenly anxious, he got up from his computer, both antennae arching up in panic. He couldn't breathe…where was it?

There! He had left it on the desk after examining it in hopes that he could figure out how to work some of the more useful functions, like the spider legs that helped Zim climb up walls, and hang from the ceiling.

Picking it up, he flipped it over, examining the flat underside. How does it work? How do you attach it? Chest heaving in an attempt to draw the suddenly thick and heavy air into his altered lungs, he growled in frustration and threw it across the room in a sudden fit of anger.

It did not hit the wall, but rather stopped and floated there for a moment, before flying back towards Dib with surprising, and frightening, speed.

Letting loose a yelp of shock, he attempted to dodge, and the Pak flew around him and with a loud and painful snap, attached itself forcefully to his back and into his actual body. Letting out a cry of pain, he collapsed to the floor, a fire overwhelming his nerves as the Pak settled itself into his spine and connected to his nervous system.

Then, the pain was gone, as if it had never been there. Blinking, he sat up and felt his back. The Pak was there, as much a part of him as his own hands were now. But he could breathe…that was the important thing.

Blinking when he realized that the holographic projector had turned off during the brief collapse he had, he realized he must've landed wrong and it had switched off. Oh well, Gaz was asleep and his father was at work, doing a late-night study again. He didn't bother turning it on again, finding the slightly hair-raising feeling of static that the hologram coated him with when it was on uncomfortable.

Heaving a relieved, yet shaky, sigh, he stood up cautiously and went back to his computer in an attempt to continue his research. But now his scientist side was alive, itching to try and work some of the Pak's other functions. The spider legs…he could try to get the spider legs operational! Then he could catch Zim by surprise, and maybe get the way to reverse the process from him! The Invader wouldn't be able to flee anywhere, because Dib would be able to follow!

Yes, he will try to figure out the Pak's abilities, and make them work! Then, he will go to Zim's and get the cure from him!

Now…he had done extensive studies on the Pak a few days ago, as well as compiling all the notes he had taken on Zim's Pak, and what he had been able to do with them. From what Dib could tell, it was a force of will, like flexing your fingers or tapping your foot, that made a lot of the Pak's abilities work.

Closing his eyes tightly, he focused his thoughts into making the four metal legs emerge from the Pak.

Nothing. Maybe he wasn't putting enough effort into it?

"Having fun, Dib?"

Jerking around in shock, Dib saw Zim perched on his window sill, grinning smugly. He wasn't even bothering with a disguise, and pretended to admire the stars that were out on this dark night.

"Zim! What are you doing here? What have you done to me?" Dib cried, pointing an accusing finger at Zim, his antennae in their usual positions, one arched up by his hair and the other flat along his head.

Zim didn't answer, but merely examined the irate mostly-Irken before him. Irken…yes, he was mostly Irken. The only things that told him apart right now was his hair, and he still had ears. Both of those won't last long. The concoction was nearing completion, and soon Dib would be 100 Irken.

"I did nothing at all," Zim exclaimed, but he was immediately interrupted by a loud "LIAR!" from Dib, who was pointing at him accusingly.

"Very well, Dib. I have merely done you, and myself, a favor." Zim said, and jerked back slightly as Dib leaped up onto the window sill next to him, anger evident in his body posture, the furious glow of his amber eyes, and the tense twitching to his antennae.

"A favor?? This is not a favor to me!" Dib howled, shaking a fist in Zim's face.

"But it is!" Zim cried, taking immense enjoyment out of his enemy's anguish. "You are now, or soon will be, one of the superior! I have merely given you, my worthy opponent, a gift! A gift of being one of the incredible Irken race!" at this Zim let loose one of his cackles. "and, of course, now you can't expose me to the human-filth without giving yourself away! Haha, now my plans will be executed without interference!"

His laugh was cut off by a sinister grin on Dib's face.

"Wrong, Zim! Just because I may be…this…does not mean I'm going to stop trying! I will stop you at every turn, and I will not give up! I may not be able to expose you myself, but if something happens during one of your plans that exposes you to the world, then you are still going to the autopsy table!" Dib proclaimed, laughing at the Invader before him.

"Oh really?" Zim said, a little bit surprised that Dib was going to jump right in and continue to interfere. Wait…this was Dib…never mind, he was not surprised.

"Yes, really." Dib said, and he took a step closer to Zim. But then…his foot slipped on the sill and with a cry of surprise he fell, plummeting down the two stories into a crash that was probably going to hurt a lot.

He clenched his eyes shut as he heard Zim laugh at his misfortune, before his fall was stopped abruptly. Zim's laughter cut off, and Dib dared to open his eyes.

He found himself hanging several feet below the window, with a surprised Zim looking down at him. He looked to either side to see why he was not falling, and was quite surprised to see the four long, metal spider legs that he had been trying so hard to make appear stretched out on either side of him, holding him up.

"I…I did it!" Dib exclaimed, distracted momentarily, until Zim spoke up again.

"Hmm. You learn quickly, Dib-human." The Invader paused. "No, that is not accurate anymore." He mused, his grin turning wicked when Dib shot a glare and began to walk up towards him, his spider legs clinking against the hard surface of the wall.

"You turn me back, Zim! Turn me back to normal!" He said, shooting forwards, the legs striking the surface hard enough to produce sparks in his anger.

Zim produced his own legs, and scurried up out of the window and towards the roof. Dib was quick to follow, but was not nearly as graceful as Zim was, having just gotten his legs and still getting used to the feel.

They paused, facing each other, on Dib's roof.

"Turn me back!" He demanded again, taking a step closer.

"No, Dib. I don't think I will. You're better off this way, and less of a threat to me." Zim said, examining his hand before brushing it on his uniform in a careless gesture. Dib growled, advancing another step towards his nemesis.

"Give me the antidote!." He gritted out from between clenched teeth.

"Sorry, Dib-thing! I will not!" Zim laughed, skittering back a step on his spider legs.

"Then I will find out how to on my own!" Dib shouted, shaking a fist at Zim.

"Ha! Good luck with that! You want to know the truth? There IS no cure!" Zim said triumphantly. "Your DNA is destroyed! Taken over by Irken DNA! There is no way for you to reverse it, to try and do so would kill you!" Zim gave a victorious pose as Dib stared at him.

"You destroyed my DNA??" he moved closer, eyes glaring certain death at Zim. "Why did you do this? Why give me the Pak? I would have died!"

"Ah, but where would the fun in that be?" Zim asked simply. As Dib stared at him, eyes wide and confused, Zim gave a mocking wave. "You may have learned how to use a part of the Pak, but it will take you YEARS to learn all of its functions without training!" With a final, wild laugh, Zim's legs took him off the roof and bounding away to his own lair.

Dib did not follow, too caught up in his thoughts to really care to follow right now. Turning, he skittered across the roof and down, towards his window. Crawling inside, he retracted the legs to his Pak, and sat at the end of his bed to think things over.

-0-0-

End Chapter

Hmm. One thing that has always intrigued me in the Invader Zim episodes is Zim's antennae. Their positions altered his expression, and emphasized his mood. So don't be surprised if I mention them a bit, as I think they are a great way for the Irken's to show emotion and all that.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: Truthfully, I never would have thought up Invader Zim. So…no, I do not own.

Summary: Zim has finally thought of the perfect way to stop Dib from interfering. But Dib isn't going to stop trying, even as he tries to find a way to reverse what Zim did to him.

'_thought'_

"speech"

-0-0- is a scene/character jump

Chapter 5

Dib sighed. It was the last day of Spring Break before school started again, and he had yet to figure out how to reverse the transformation that was undoubtedly nearing completion.

"DIB! Get down here and get lunch or face my wrath!" Gaz howled up the stairs. Heaving another heavy sigh, Dib activated the holographic projector that his father had thankfully not asked for yet, and headed to the stairs.

He was now pure Irken on the outside. His hair was gone now, leaving the irritable antennae, and he had no ears or nose anymore. As well as the green skin and pupil-less eyes, sharp teeth, and three clawed fingers, he was Irken.

Trudging down the stairs and into the kitchen, he sighed yet again when he saw Gaz hovering protectively over a pizza box. One small slice sat on a plate on the other side of the table.

Sitting down in his seat, Dib stared at the small slice with a resigned expression. Trust Gaz to hog the majority of the pizza. At least she gave him a slice this time…

Shrugging, he reached out and picked it up.

Ugh! What kind of pizza was this? It smelled absolutely horrible! Cautiously, Dib took a bite of the foul smelling pizza, almost afraid of what it would taste like. It looked like normal pepperoni…

Oh gods! The pain! The pain! His mouth was on fire! Hastily he spat out the small bite had taken, and dashed away up to his room as he felt his mouth smoke, screaming all the while.

Gaz sat there, raising an eyebrow at her brother's antics, before calmly reaching across the table and taking his slice of pizza.

Upstairs, Dib was hissing under his breath as he tried to cool the fire in his mouth. Apparently he couldn't eat Earth food anymore…what was he supposed to eat?? 

What did Zim eat…surely he had notes on what Zim ate…

Shooting over to his computer, he logged onto the Zim files and began to search; trying to find any sort of food that he had recorded Zim eating.

Hmm…alien food, waffles, alien drinks, alien food, waffles, and waffles…gah! He couldn't survive off waffles! He had to go confront Zim!

-0-0-

"My Tallest!" Zim gave a smart salute. "I have called to give in my report!"

Both Red and Purple let out groans of frustration. Why couldn't he just die?

"What do you want now, Zim?" Red asked wearily, munching a donut.

"Yea, what's your most recent plan of destruction?" Purple waved a hand dismissively at the screen, digging further into a bag he was holding and pulling out a chunk of some unidentifiable…something…and eating it.

"Ah! I'm glad you asked, My Tallest!" Zim struck a heroic pose. "You see, I have –" he was cut off as the door slammed open and something tackled him suddenly, driving him hard to the ground.

On the Irken command ship, Red and Purple blinked at the sight of a strange Irken standing over Zim, threatening him with doom and destruction.

"You'll pay for this Zim! You will pay!" Dib shouted, shaking a fist in Zim's face.

"What are you babbling about now, Dib?" Zim cried back, smacking his fist away. He pointed at the screen, with his staring leaders. "Can't you see that I'm in the middle of a call?"

Dib spun about to glare at the screen. His spider legs emerged and he began to stalk towards the screen, amber eyes narrowed menacingly. He had knocked the holographic projector loose with his tackle of Zim, but at the moment he couldn't care.

"So this is how you contact your leaders, Zim? Well…I wonder what will happen to you if you can't contact them!" Dib said, a wicked grin spreading across his face.

"If only…" Purple muttered wistfully.

"Ack! Computer, get him away from the screen!" Zim commanded, running after Dib. Pipes came down from the ceiling and surrounded Dib, constricting on him and two other pipes gripping his spider legs together.

Purple gave a disappointed sigh as their only hope of Zim-free days for a few weeks or even a month got captured.

"So…ah, Zim…who is this?" Red asked, leaning forwards a bit to examine the struggling, angered Irken caught in Zim's house defenses.

"This is…uh…" Zim faltered, unsure of what to say. He was pretty sure it was against the rules to transform inferior beings into Irken…maybe that was written somewhere…dang, he should've paid better attention to the laws!

"Why don't you tell them the truth, Zim?" Dib growled, still attempting to get loose. "He did this to me! I used to be human! He made me this way and won't turn me back!" Dib cried, glaring at the perpetrator of his anguish.

"…" Purple said.

"Is he insane?" Red asked, disbelief written on his face.

Zim's eyes lit up. "Yes! He is! He's completely insane, My Tallest. I found him here, but he believes those crazy ideas! He does not think he is Irken, but one of those stinking human filth! I do not know what to do, my Tallest!" Zim exclaimed, and Dib could only stare, mid-struggle.

"He lies! He's a filthy liar!" Dib cried, but he knew he was fighting a losing battle. The two Irken on the screen shook their heads in pity.

"Crazy and believing he is a human…how sad." Red mused.

"And stuck on Earth with Zim…" Purple added, and the two gave a collective shudder.

"What do I do, my Tallest? I can not kill one of our own!" Zim said, fake sympathy layering his voice. "But he keeps coming after me, and sooner or later I will have to start defending myself…"

"Hmm. What is your name and rank?" Red asked, pointing at Dib.

"What? I'm Dib! And I have no rank! I am human!" Dib responded, thoroughly frustrated. He was getting no where with this! Zim had his leaders believe that he was an insane Irken!

"He doesn't even remember his rank." Purple shook his head. "What should we do about this?" he asked his fellow leader.

"Hmm. Zim!" He pointed at the smirking Invader. Zim saluted smartly. "It is up to you to help poor…eh…" At this point he faltered, trying to remember the name.

"Dib," Dib said, sighing heavily.

"Yes! Zim, it is up to you to help poor Dib regain his memory, or whatever. And, uh…don't call us until you have done so!"

With that, the screen went blank.

Red sighed in relief. "Do you think he can do it? That…Dib…seemed pretty messed up in the head."

"I don't know, Red. He seemed pretty intent on killing Zim." Purple mused, tapping a claw on the arm of his chair. Red's eyes widened.

"You're right! If we're lucky, he WILL kill Zim…and then we can either pick him up and fix him ourselves or leave him there. Whichever we feel like at the time." Red said, shrugging.

"Right!" They both laughed, toasting their evil smart-ness with their cups of orange fizzling liquid.

-0-0-

"What?" Zim exclaimed. He growled, eyes narrowed, before spinning and pointing an accusing claw at Dib. "This is your fault, Dib! Because of you now I can't call my leaders until they think you are fixed! How am I supposed to inform them of my brilliant plans and evil genius victories if I can't call them?" Zim cried, glaring at his arch-nemesis.

"Well, I guess I have done what I wanted to do in the first place the." Dib said thoughtfully. "I meant to stop you from contacting your leaders by destroying your screen, but this works too!" Dib shouted triumphantly, laughing at Zim's anger.

"You have ruined everything! Why did you come here and bother Zim??" Zim growled, tapping a foot.

"Because –" Dib was interrupted by the front door slamming open, and the little robot Gir skipped in, holding a bag of groceries.

He stopped and stared at the two in the living room.

"Master has the big head boy over to play!" He cheered, dropping the bag and scampering up to sit on Dib's head in the blink of an eye.

"Get off my head!" Dib cried, "And my head is not big!" he shook his head, trying to get the annoying robot off, but it was useless as Gir just gave a piercing laugh and hung onto his antennae.

"Gir! Don't leave the door open!" Zim cried, running over and shutting the door. "Computer, release the Dib." The pipes opened up, dropping Dib to the ground, still with Gir on his head.

"Zim, get your annoying robot off my head!" Dib yelled, reaching up to try and pry Gir off his antennae, but yelped in pain as Gir yanked on one, chuckling about tacos or some such thing.

"Hmm, no, I don't think I will, Dib. He seems to like you." Zim mused, grinning at Dib's pain and frustration. Gir had his uses, occasionally.

Giving up and deciding that trying to get the insane robot off only caused him more pain, Dib sighed, turning to face his rival.

"Now, Dib, why did you come here and interrupt my report??" Zim demanded, pointing yet again at Dib.

Dib growled, gritting his teeth in frustration. He was a bit embarrassed as to why he came, but…he had to find out what to do about it!

"Well??" Zim howled.

"Because I can't eat anything without hurting myself!" Dib finally shouted back, eyes narrowed in anger. "How am I supposed to live if I can't eat??"

Zim blinked, before sighing. "Pitiful Dib, you're Pak will take care of your bodily needs. Eating is a secondary priority."

"But you ate…you ate the waffles that one time! And I've seen you eat some of you alien food!" Dib said, spitting the word 'alien' as if it were a curse.

"Yes, yes. We can eat if we wish, but we do not have too." Zim said, waving off Dib's glare dismissively. "Now, if that was all, I have very important work to do. Begone!" he commanded, pointing to the door.

Dib shot one final glare, before reaching up and pushing the sleeping Gir off his antennae before activating his disguise and slamming the door on his way out.

Gir sat up and looked around. "Aww, where did the big head boy go?"

"He's gone, Gir. Now…to the lab! We have to begin our next plan!" Zim shouted, running to the toilet and standing on it in another striking pose before flushing himself, Gir jumping in with a screeching 'Whee!'

-0-0-

School…his first day of school as an Irken...hopefully his disguise could hold up for that long. He did not know how long the holographic projector could go before it ran out of power.

Finishing the final touches to the hologram of himself, he reached up and pushed his antennae flat, hoping that if they flicked up and through the hologram as they have done before, people will just think it's a hair that is out of place.

Humans were stupid. Ack! Wait, no! They were just…unobservant! Yea, that was it.

Dib narrowed his eyes. He had to stay focused! Had to keep thinking as a human! No Irken thoughts to taint his brilliant mind! Zim had mentioned a plan, and Dib was going to find out what it is and stop it, like he's done before, time and time again!

Nodding with satisfaction, he left his room and met up with Gaz downstairs, and they began to walk to the school.

"So what is up with you?" his sister's sudden question had him blinking in shock. To think that she had actually noticed something, even while playing those games of hers.

"Nothing, why do you ask?" he asked cautiously. He thought he had been able to keep everything under wraps…did he go wrong somewhere?

"You seem different." She looked up briefly, widening one eye at him in question. He gave a nervous smile and waved off her concern, or curiosity. He did not know if Gaz could ever show concern for him.

"There is nothing wrong with me, Gaz. Other than the usual." He was saved any other questions by running inside the school building as they got up to it, and all but tearing into his classroom and sliding to his seat.

"Hello, Dib."

Dib turned and glared at Zim, the alien smirking in his seat on the other side of the room. Mrs. Bitters slithered into the room at that moment, and everyone shut up, remembering poor Johnny B. from the back row who had talked while she was talking…the grease stain of where his desk used to be was still there…

"Class, today we are going to talk about fast food and the horrible DOOM it will bring upon the world…" and so began her lecture.

Zim had perked up at the word 'doom', and was paying rapt attention. Probably wanting hints for his next plan of world conquest, Dib mused darkly, glaring at the Invader.

The class went by in a blur, Dib barely hearing a word of it, too wound up in possible solutions to his…Irken…problem, and what Zim might be planning.

After lunch it was the same, the horrors of McMeaties being discussed and how it will ruin the lives of all who come in contact with it. Once again, Dib zoned out, contemplating his problems.

"Dib!"

Dib jumped in fear as Mrs. Bitters was suddenly in his face, scowling at him.

"If my lecture is too boring for you, you can just go to the office!" She hissed, pointing towards the door. Blinking at her and standing up, he shot a glare at the snickering Zim before walking out the door and heading to the office.

"Well, well, well, Dib. It would seem you got yourself in trouble without any help from the almighty Zim!"

Twitching, Dib turned around to face the little alien that had apparently followed him from class.

"Zim…" He growled.

"Well, I'll be seeing you. Have to go work on my newest evil plan. One that will go off without a problem and no interference from you!" Zim proclaimed, pointing at his rival.

"When have you had a plan go off without a problem? And who says I won't be interfering?" Dib demanded, frowning.

"Silence! Do not talk back to the ultimate genius of Zim!" Zim shouted, just as the bell rang for classes to be let out. Turning, the Invader walked off.

Glaring at the back of his head, Dib swore that he was going to stop whatever plan Zim had in store for Earth, and then, after he got done doing that, he was going to make Zim turn him back. And he'll do whatever it took to do so.

-0-0-

"Success, Gir!" Zim exclaimed, cackling manically. He held up a test tube full of a pale orange powder.

"Oooh! Is it candy? Sugar Candy??" Gir shouted, cheering and jumping up in down. "Like a pixie stick? Is it a pixie stick? It is a pixie stick!" Gir made a grab for it, but Zim jerked it back and away.

"No, Gir! Not candy. This is for the pitiful stink-beasts of this planet! We have already tried to put sewage into their filthy cow-beasts, but that did not work. This, however, will! For it will not go into the cow, but into the nasty meat of their fast food!" Zim let out another triumphant laugh. "They will become addicted, and eat more and more of that 'junk' food! And they will therefore ingest more and more of this!" he held up the test tube again.

"Oh. What is it?" Gir questioned, tilting his head to the side.

"With this…I shall control the minds of all the humans that eat it! And, from there, I can rule this filthy dirt ball of a planet and destroy it!" He let out a evil laugh, Gir joining in with his master.

"What about the big head boy?" Gir asked suddenly, breaking off his master's laughter.

"The Dib? Ha! The Dib will have a surprise coming to him if he tries to stop me!"

Zim's cackle rang through the base, joined by Gir's high pitched giggles.

-0-0-

End Chapter


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: Truthfully, I never would have thought up Invader Zim. So…no, I do not own.

Summary: Zim has finally thought of the perfect way to stop Dib from interfering. But Dib isn't going to stop trying, even as he tries to find a way to reverse what Zim did to him.

'_thought'_

"speech"

-0-0- is a scene/character jump

Chapter 6

Zim was up to something. Dib knew it. He knew it!! But what, that was the question. None of Dib's spying could reveal the answer. Zim was being doubly careful on keeping this one a secret, which means that it was probably going to be the doom of the whole planet!

Sitting at his computer, disguise off as has become his custom when in his room, Dib narrowed his eyes as he surveyed his notes on Zim's behavior for the past couple of days. Other than the gloating, smug attitude the Invader held towards Dib because of his successful transformation, he hadn't done anything to clue in what his new plan might have been.

Tapping his claws together, Dib mused on his predicament. He was Irken now, but that did not change his plan on saving the Earth from the Irken Empire. Zim was unable to contact his leaders until Dib was out of the way, or 'cured', as the Tallest believed. Therefore, Zim had lost a small advantage. So Earth had been saved a little bit more time. Meanwhile, however, Zim was planning something that could, and probably would, prove disastrous for Earth.

How to find out though? Dib growled, tenting his claws in thought, leaning back. He had tried spying, breaking in, and implanting a recording device. What else was there to try? The recording device had worked, he had gotten the small robot…Gir…to put it in the house. The only problem was that Zim did not discuss his evil plots while it was up.

Wait…Gir!

Laughing at the sudden, obviousness and perfectness of his new plan to get information on Zim, Dib stood up and leaped out of his window, his spider legs extending to cushion his landing.

He activated his disguise and took off in the direction of Zim's house.

-0-0-

Zim was out, doing some mission or whatnot that would help with his evil-pixie-stick doom plan. Leaving Gir home alone, to guard the base.

You think he would have learned by now that that was a bad idea.

Gir was happily watching TV, munching a cookie from a plate next to him on the couch. When a knock on the door came, Gir looked up. Master? No…Master would not knock.

Maybe it was a pizza man!

Leaping up and pulling on his doggy-disguise, Gir ran to the door and opened it.

"Hellloooo?" He greeted, and saw Dib standing on his door step, hands thrust into his trench coat pockets. "HI!!!"

"Heya, Gir. Can I come in?" Dib asked, hoping Gir was the same friendly, little robot he had always been.

Gir was about to shout a loud 'yea!', when he hesitated. Master had said to guard the base…and Dib was Master's enemy…but Gir liked Dib…

Wait…what was he thinking about? It was something important…Hey! Big head boy was at the door! Maybe he wanted to come in and play?

"Come in!" Gir chirped, turning and climbing back onto the couch, removing his disguise and grabbing a cookie and scarfing it. He held one out to Dib, who accepted the cookie cautiously.

"Did you make these?" He asked warily. Knowing some of the tings that the little robot put into some of the stuff he made…well, it would make anyone nervous to eat anything.

"Nuh-uh!" Gir shook his head. "I bought these at the store." He pointed in a random direction.

Dib narrowed his eyes. Well, it was safe from that angle. But could Irkens eat cookies? Taking a cautious bite of the chocolate chip cookie, Dib sighed with relief when his mouth didn't burn. Mhm…it was tasty.

"So…Gir…I had a question." Dib began, wanting to get this done with before Zim got back from wherever he was.

"Mmm?" Gir looked up from the TV, crumbs falling onto the couch as he decimated another cookie.

"What is Zim up to?" He asked, hoping the robot knew anything.

"Oooh!" Gir went wide eyed. "Master is going to use the evil pixie stick to take over the humans!" At this point, Gir let lose a giggle.

Dib raised an antennae and a holographic eyebrow at the robot.

"Pixie…stick?"

"Yea! He has an orange pixie stick that he's gonna put in the food! The tacos! TACOS!!!" Gir got up and ran in circles, chanting 'taco, taco, taco!'

"Really now?" This was curious… "And what exactly does the pixie stick do?" Dib asked, but Gir kept running in circles screaming about his tacos. Growling a bit in frustration, Dib held onto his patience and tried a new method. "If you tell me, I'll give you a taco."

Gir stopped in his tracks, before turning and leaping up next to Dib on the couch.

"Taco!"

"The pixie stick, Gir." Dib reminded, leaning back as the robot came closer, bright cyan eyes filled with happiness.

"Heehee…it's gonna let the master control all of the humans' minds!" Gir bounced up and down. "Where's my taco??"

"Thank you Gir, you have been most helpful." Dib grinned wickedly, giving the robot a small pat on his bouncing head. "I will go get you a taco now!" With that, Dib stood and took off, running out and closing the door, leaving a sad Gir behind, until the dysfunctional robot saw the scary monkey show and began watching it avidly.

About ten minutes passed and then Zim walked in, triumphant and happy with the progress he had made.

Yes, this plan would surely work! If he could slip the powder into the awful meat and fries of the several fast food places in town, he would soon control the minds of all humans who ate it!

And the way he did that was by letting them ingest the powder, which contained small nano-bots that would cloud their minds and transmit all of Zim's commands, forcing them to obey. They would do what he said, everything he said, believing it to be their own idea! It was perfect!

"Gir!" Zim commanded, and the robot looked up in surprise.

"Master! You are home! Did you bring me my taco?"

"Taco? Gir, what are you talking about?" Zim asked, frowning at Gir, who merely looked confused.

"Ooohh…" Gir blinked. "It was the big head boy, not you! Where is he? Where is my taco??"

"Big head boy? Dib? The Dib! He was here?" Zim cried, spinning around and examining his base for any signs of a recording device or tampering. Nothing…

"Where is my taco??" Gir wailed, looking under the couch cushions.

"Computer! Was the Dib here?" Zim demanded, tapping his foot and glaring at Gir as the robot ran around the house, looking for his non-existent taco.

"Affirmative," the computer answered.

"Argh! Did he take any pictures? Put any of his stupid spy-bugs in here?"

"Negative."

"Gir!" Zim cried, turning on Gir. "Gir! What did the Dib do while he was here? Why did you let him in??"

"I don't know…"

"You don't know what?" Zim asked, raising an antenna in question as he glared at his faulty robot.

"I don't remember why he was here!" Gir laughed, "He came and ate cookies with me…then he promised me a taco if I gave him a pixie stick!"

"A pixie stick?" Zim blinked, then his eyes widened in shock when he remembered what Gir had called his orange mind controlling powder. "Gir! Did you tell Dib about our plans??"

"Uh-huh…" Gir trailed off, realizing he had made a mistake. "Ooooh…"

"Gah! Gir!" Zim growled, before forcing himself to calm down. Getting mad at Gir was not going to help. So the Dib had discovered his genius plot…well, he had planned on dealing with Dib if the nuisance would try to interfere once the plan was in motion. He had not planned on Dib finding out about it before it was even started.

"I'm sorry!" Gir wailed, tears somehow welling up in his eyes.

"Gir," the robot kept wailing, though, not hearing Zim. "Gir? GIR!" Zim grabbed Gir and shook him slightly. "Gir! It's OK, alright? Just stop your pathetic crying!"

"You're not mad at me?" Gir sniffled.

Zim sighed. "No Gir, I am not mad at you. I would have liked it if you had NOT let Dib in the house, but that can not be helped now. But, in the future, do not disobey ZIM!!"

"Now…to the lab! I need to figure out how to stop the Dib from messing up my brilliant plan."

-0-0-

After hours of puzzling, searching, and plotting, Zim was no closer to finding a good way of keeping Dib occupied Everything he thought of he had already tried before, or would probably end up just causing more problems. Zim was getting frustrated. What was there that he could do that would keep Dib out of his plans and busy??

Hmm…last time the Dib's sister had stopped him from interfering…maybe Zim could do something that would make his sister keep him busy? But what? Hmm…

Suddenly with a new angle to plot from, Zim leaned back and began to laugh. He had thought of the perfect thing!

-0-0-

That day at school, Dib was even more anxious about Zim's plan. Judging by the looks the Invader shot him, something was up. Something real big was up.

When lunch came around, Dib hid himself and eavesdropped on Zim, who was talking discreetly to Gir through his little walkie-talkie thingy.

"Now Gir, remember! Our target is Dib's sister! She shall be our first test subject…" Zim whispered into the device, putting it away hurriedly as Gaz walked by.

"Oh no! Gaz!" Dib gasped, running up and glaring at Zim. "I know what you are up to! And I'm not going to stand for it!" He hissed, before running over to sit beside Gaz, keeping a watchful eye on Zim the entire time she ate her lunch.

"What is wrong with you?" Gaz muttered, elbowing her brother harshly in the side, causing him to yelp and scoot over a bit. "Why aren't you eating?"

"I'm…not hungry, Gaz. And there is nothing wrong with me." Dib said defensively, turning back to keep Zim in sight and make sure he stayed away from Gaz. Dib was not going to let that idiot alien do anything to his sister! He will stay by Gaz's side until Zim gave up on it!

Little did he know that that is exactly what Zim wanted him to do, as the little alien smirked at him from across the cafeteria. Oh, how easy it had been to pretend to call Gir while Dib was near, knowing the interfering pest would listen in on it.

This was going well.

-0-0-

Gaz was getting irritated. Dib was not leaving her alone! Ever since lunch, he was practically stalking her every move, shadowing her steps when she went to the Krazy Taco to get herself a burrito.

She was getting really, really irritated.

"Gah! Would you just leave me alone??" She finally snapped, turning on her brother where he stood, watching every shadow carefully, as if expecting something to pop out and attack them.

"Because Zim is going to…ZIM!!!" Dib began, before interrupting himself and pointing at Zim, who could be seen entering the Krazy Taco, a conspicuous tube of orange powder held in one hand.

"I need to stop him!" Dib proclaimed, shooting forwards. Gaz frowned, crossing her arms and glaring.

"I will destroy you, Dib…" She muttered, itching to wrap her hands around her brother's scrawny neck and just…_twisting_...

She tapped her foot as she watched the ensuing battle between Dib and Zim.

Dib cursed when Zim hit the holographic projector, causing it to static for a moment. Dib panicked, praying that Gaz wasn't paying attention to notice the brief moment where his disguise had dropped. He really was going to have a check done on the stupid thing, and maybe try and upgrade it. Dad had said it was a prototype, but still! It turned off or glitched too many times. Yes, he'll have to spend a few hours trying to fix its habit of turning off at the wrong time.

Success!! Dib finally got a blow through, knocking the tube to the ground, where it shattered and immediately got soggy in someone's spilled cola.

"No!!" Zim cried, eyes wide. That had been his only batch. Maybe he should have made more? But…no…drat! His perfect plan, Dib was supposed to be out of the way! Now the plan was ruined, the nano-bots gone!

Cursing Dib, Zim darted away. Maybe he had saved the formula, but he's been known to forget to do that...oh, by the Tallest! He had better have remembered to save that formula!

Dib let him go, brushing dust off his trench coat. He turned and looked around. Gaz was gone…oh well. With a sigh, Dib headed home.

-0-0-

"Hello, Son."

Dib spun around, eyes widening in surprise. His dad should still be at work…

"Dad? What are you doing home from work so early?" He narrowed his eyes in suspicion. What was his father doing back from the labs?

Gaz appeared behind the professor, sipping out of a juice box. She gave Dib a look he couldn't describe, but one that sent chills down his back. She knew something…wait…did she see him without his disguise? Maybe…but…she wouldn't have told dad…would she?

Actually, she probably would…but…dad wouldn't believe her! He wouldn't…

At that moment, the door bell rang. Professor Membrane walked over and opened it, to reveal several figures.

"A-agents of the Swollen Eye? Dad, what is going on?" Dib asked, panic beginning to rise in him. What were the agents doing here? He hadn't talked to them or gave any report to them in a long time…you'd think they'd be rejoicing since they had pretty much told him they didn't believe him about Zim.

"I'm sorry, Son. If only I had believed your wild stories, maybe it wouldn't have come to this. I say this is all my fault. Or at least a portion of it is." Professor Membrane said sadly, shutting the door behind the agents and walking over to stand near Dib.

"Agent Mothman, we also need to apologize for not believing you. However, this is a good chance for us to follow and complete your dream." The head Agent stated, also walking forwards.

"What do you mean? My greatest dream was to capture Zim and prove to the world that aliens were real…" Dib answered, his panic rising to new heights. Under his hologram disguise, his antennae were flattened to his head in fear and nervousness.

"Exactly."

With that, Professor Membrane reached out and yanked off the holographic projector from around Dib's neck.

With the loss of the small object, Dib was revealed for what he was…Irken.

-0-0-

End Chapter.

Oh dears. What is going to happen now? cackles


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: Truthfully, I never would have thought up Invader Zim. So…no, I do not own.

Summary: Zim has finally thought of the perfect way to stop Dib from interfering. But Dib may find that Zim's plans are the least of his problems…

'_thought'_

"speech"

-0-0- is a scene/character jump

Chapter 7

There were gasps around the room, and the agents closed in around the panicking Dib. There were mutters of "So it is true!" and "I can't believe it!"

Dib's father was shaking his head sadly. "Oh, if only I have believed you sooner. Then maybe your desire to prove the truth wouldn't have gotten you turned into an alien! But, there is an upside, son!" Professor Membrane placed a hand on his son's shoulder. "Now we can finally prove there is alien life out there! And we can finally begin in depth research upon extraterrestrial life!"

Dib's eyes narrowed in sudden anger. "In depth research beginning with me, eh?" He growled, and smacked his father's hand off his shoulder and backed up. No, not his father. No father would plan on experimenting on his own child! But…professor Membrane had done it to Gaz, now he was planning on doing it to Dib. No, no more!

Gaz…she had betrayed him. She had turned on him and told his father, and the agents, about Dib's new identity. She had, in effect, doomed him. How could she?? She knew what their father would do!

Angered and hurt beyond words, Dib just thought one thing: 'I have to get out.' They were not going to experiment and research him! He was the one who was supposed to be doing the research!

With a sharp yell at the sudden claustrophobic feeling as the agents pressed closer, trying to hold him down long enough to subdue him, Dib activated the spider legs in his Pak and skittered up the wall, surprising those below him long enough for him to snatch the hologram projector dangling from his fa-no, the professor's hand, and to escape through a window.

"After him!"

Sliding down the side of the house before catching himself, he skittered along the wall, angling towards the garage where Tak's ship was parked. It had been a month-long project of his, and he had modified it to his satisfaction.

Landing beside the ship, the spider legs taking the brunt of the hard landing, he quickly punched several buttons as the sounds of the agents closing in behind him became louder.

"Ship! Launch into orbit and await for my commands!" He shouted, and the ship began to power up. Dib did not know what to do, really. He was so hurt that he was confused. Zim. That was the answer, in his mind. Go to Zim; inform him that he had been found out. Then, Dib will call down his ship and get in, and go somewhere. Anywhere.

The ship took off, knocking the first few agents back as it blasted over their heads and up, heading to the dark sky.

Dib followed, his spider legs taking him up the neighbor's house and he dashed across rooftops, disappearing from the view of the agents.

He landed in an alleyway, and was about to head towards Zim's house when he froze.

Before him stood Gaz, arms crossed.

"Just stay where you are, Dib. Don't make this any harder on yourself." She said, eyes leveling a dark glare at him.

"Gaz? But…why?" Dib whispered, his antennae flat against his skull, he almost seemed to be cowering away from his sister.

"Why? Because you've always been causing trouble! I'm sick of it, Dib! I'm sick of your alien talk, your ghosts! Life will be better with you locked up in one of dad's labs. I will be happy, and Dad will be happy. We can go on with life, without your weirdness messing it up for the rest of us!" Gaz ground out, stamping a foot as she vented all her frustrations.

"But…"

"But nothing! You are going to be removed from my life, Dib. I will make sure of that." She said, stepping closer as the sound of cars squealing to a stop. Dib skittered back, but he was caught. The only way out was to get through Gaz. Glaring in sudden determination, Dib charged his sister, using the spider legs to leap over her head.

He was free! He could get away, and go and warn Zim, and then…decide what to do from there! He was…

He was caught.

Gaz reached up and snagged one of his metal spider legs while he leaped over her head, holding on tight and he landed wrong, the legs crumpling and sliding as he collided with the ground, hitting his chin harshly on the cement.

"You are not going anywhere, Dib!" Gaz told him, releasing the leg she had grabbed while agents ran up and quickly subdued Dib before he could begin to getup. Thinking quickly, he pulled the legs back into his Pak before any of them could be damaged by the agents' uncaring hands, and he slipped the holographic projector around one of them to hide it until he needed it.

"Come now, son." Membrane said, motioning towards the dark car that was blocking the alley entrance. Dib was pushed inside, followed by Membrane and Gaz. Agent Dark Booty took the front seat, and they drove off.

Towards the labs.

-0-0-

Zim was suspicious.

Oh yes, he knew the Dib was up to something…

Dib had not been in class for three days. That meant he was either up to something, or sick. He was probably up to something, and Zim was going to be prepared! Oh yes, Dib was not going to foil Zim's plot for world domination.

Zim had thankfully remembered to save the formula for his nano-bots, and he had a new supply all ready to go. But first, he had to know what the Dib was planning.

At lunch, Zim went over to where Gaz was playing her game slave during lunch.

"You!" He cried, pointing at her. She glanced up at him briefly, before looking back down at her game.

"What do you want, Zim?" she muttered.

"Where is the Dib?" Zim demanded. If anyone would know, she would know.

"Don't you worry about him, Zim. Now be off, before I decide to tell my father all about you." She hissed, glaring at him.

Zim glared back, before going back to his own table.

Gaz gave a small smile.

No Dib, and Zim wouldn't bother her any farther, or she would spill the beans on him as well. Yes, life was going good now.

Actually, she was in such a good mood, she'll pay a visit to her brother tonight. Maybe Dib would like a visit.

Snickering under her breath, she punched a few more buttons, hitting the save point and flying off into the next new level.

-0-0-

Dib paced inside the small glass-chrome cell he was in. All he had in here was a bed, a sink, and a toilet. Professor Membrane and his assistants, as well as the Agents, would come by and observe him, ask him questions, and run a few tests on him.

According to Professor Membrane, they should know all they could about Dib's new species before going public with this, because they wanted to be able to answer any and all questions.

This was lucky for Dib, since he was still puzzling how to get out of here. The walls, though they were made of glass, were of a type of glass that made it very difficult for him to do anything to. One night he had tried to use the spider legs to smash his way through, but had ended up doing nothing but tiring himself out.

His father had begun to run sensory tests, trying to see how Dib heard and smelled things without ears or a nose.

Dib really, really wished he didn't do these tests. They were painful to his sensitive antennae. His father would play an assortment of sounds, some detectable by the human ear, some not. He wanted to see just what range of sounds Dib could hear. He played them at different volumes, as well.

The doors to the lab opened, causing Dib to start in shock. No one came by this late…everyone was currently off working on the next type of super-toast.

Gaz…

"Hello Dib," She greeted, walking up and pressing her face against the glass like someone would do at a zoo. He glared at her, clenching his fists together.

"Gaz…what do you want? Is it not enough that you put me here?" He snapped, stopping his pacing around the perimeter of his cell in favor of staring at her menacingly.

"I just came by to tell you that Zim asked about you, but nobody else seemed to notice that you have missed three days of school." She shrugged, tapping the glass thoughtfully. "Also, I came by to make sure dad is not doing any autopsies on you."

"And why would you care?" Dib asked, "Though I'm not saying you should let him…"

"Why? Because, even though I hate to admit it, you are my brother, moron. I may want you to be locked up and out of my life, but that doesn't mean I'm going to let dad kill you for his stupid science." Gaz, pounded one fist on the glass, causing Dib to flinch and fold his antennae down in response to the reverberating boom it caused.

"Well, I have three levels before I beat my game, so I'm going to go do that." She turned and walked out, pulling her game slave from her pocket and turning it on. The lab doors closed behind her, leaving Dib in the dark labs, with only the dim lighting of his cell illuminating his surroundings.

With a heavy sigh, Dib sat on the edge of the bed. Well, that solved one of his questions as to why his father hadn't progressed to autopsies. Dib had been trying to make himself believe that it was because the Professor didn't want to do that to his son. But that wasn't as believable as Gaz asking him not to.

How was he going to get out of here? Dib was NOT going to sit by and let people gawk at him and prod him.

Spider legs didn't work, and Dib did not know how to use the rest of his Pak. Growling in frustration, Dib activated the spider legs again and began to beat on the side of the cell in anger. He had to get out! He had too!

With a final curse, Dib brought all four tips of his spider legs against the glass at once, wanting nothing more than to BE OUT. Squeezing his eyes shut, he fought back the urge to just scream. Suddenly there was a sharp hiss, and then the smell of melting glass and hot metal.

Startled, Dib opened his eyes and saw a sight that sent his scientific side wild. A glowing blue beam of light was arching from one spider leg to the next, until all four leg tips were glowing, connected by the beams of light, creating a square. That square was slowly burning into the wall of the cell, eating away and melting the glass.

The Pak could do this? Dib had never seen Zim's Pak do this…but then again, there were lots of things about what Zim's Pak could do that Dib didn't know. Oh well, he wasn't going to muse about it when he had to escape.

The spider leg beams finished cutting through the glass, and they pushed the slab of glass to the ground, letting out a resounding crash that made Dib flinch, hoping no one had heard it.

Stepping out of the cell for the first time since he had been brought into the labs, Dib glanced about. His laptop was in his ship, which should still be in orbit. He hurriedly went to the door and tried to open it.

Nothing, apparently he didn't have security clearance anymore like he used to. Frowning, he focused his will and attempted to make the Pak do the same energy-beam thing it had done before.

Success! Since he had done it once, he could do it again. Just like the legs. The square of light again ate through the metal, and he ran through, heading for the exit.

Breaking through, he activated his metal legs and climbed up to the top of the labs, sitting at the very top for a moment to rest and think.

What was he going to do now? He needed to go warn Zim, he kind of owed the moronic Invader for the Pak, although he wouldn't need the Pak if he hadn't been turned into an Irken.

Argh! He'll just warn Zim, to save his conscience the effort of making him feel guilty, and then he'll figure out what to do.

Resolute in his new determination, Dib took off in the direction of Zim's house.

One thing Dib was certain about: the spider legs saved a lot of travel time. He could cover a lot more ground by making use of their longer stride.

Landing in front of Zim's house, he avoided a laser beam from one of the lawn gnomes and banged on the door, yelling for Zim to answer. The door flung open suddenly, and Dib barely caught himself from hitting the other Irken in the face.

"Dib? What do you want?" Zim asked, and then did a double take as he realized Dib was without a disguise. "What by the Tallest are you thinking?? Running around without a disguise?"

"It's over Zim!" Dib shouted, and pushed his way into Zim's house, slamming the door behind him and peeking out of the window as he heard alarms start up at the labs, ringing out across the town. His escape had been discovered. "We've been found out!"

"You got found out, and you led them to Zim?! Stupid, stupid, stupid Dib!" Zim cried. "Gir! Pack up! Computer, start the Voot cruiser and activate emergency evacuation procedure!"

"I didn't get us found out! Gaz did! She spilled it all!" Dib snarled, eyes dark at the thought and filled with hurt. "She told dad, and then told the Agents of the Eye. She had dad lock me up in the labs for a whole week! Now they're after both of us!"

"So that's why you haven't been in school," Zim muttered "Why did you come here? You hoping for help off this filthy planet and away from the humans you have tried so hard to protect? Well, they're after you now. See where all your 'rescuing' as gotten you?" Zim shouted, poking Dib in the chest with one claw.

"I get it, alright?? It was all for nothing and done for people who don't care! I get it, I get it!" Dib pulled on his antennae, using the pain to orient and focus himself. "I did not come here for help, Zim. I have Tak's ship, MY ship, in orbit ready to come get me."

Zim raised an antennae at the mention of the ship. "Where would you go? Somewhere else on this filthy rock? Why did you come here?"

Dib growled in frustration. "We don't have time for this! I came here to warn you, because it seemed like the right thing to do! Obviously I can't be on THEIR side," and he pointed out the window to where the sirens were almost deafeningly loud as they came closer. Apparently Gaz had told them to check Zim's house. "And I'm not on YOUR side, so what am I supposed to do? I came here to warn you, then see what you are going to do once we escape."

"Mhm, is that so? Well, I hate to admit it, but you are right. We do not have time to argue right now. Let us get out of here and away from the stink beasts, and THEN we can argue!" Zim proclaimed, and dashed towards the chute up to his ship. Not knowing what else to do, Dib followed.

One thing was to be certain, the computer was rather good at getting everything packed up. The secret lab under the house was pulled and twisted until it was back into its original package, small enough to fit in the Voot cruiser. Dib raised an eye brow at the fact that the majority of the lab could be packed down so small, but decided to investigate later.

"Call you ship, Dib!" Zim commanded, throwing Gir into the Voot and climbing in beside him. The house was an empty husk with a large hole underneath it, but nothing remotely alien left inside.

Dib nodded and activated a wrist-comlink with his ship. Pushing a few buttons, he soon was in his own ship and they both shot out of the top of the house while the Agents and police were busy trying to batter the door down.

Everything paused as the two Irken ships flew overhead and disappeared up into the sky, the only movement was one little girl as she shoved her way through the crowd, a game in one hand and her eyes shielded against the lamp nearby with the other.

"Finally," She whispered. "No more Zim. No more Dib. Finally." And with that, she turned back to her game as the door to Zim's house was broken down and agents poured inside, hoping to find something, anything, alien.

All they found was a normal house, with a big hole in the wall where a screen used to be and a toilet in the kitchen.

-0-0-

End Chapter

With finals coming up this week, I probably will not be able to post the next chapter until next week. Sorry!


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: Truthfully, I never would have thought up Invader Zim. So…no, I do not own.

Summary: Zim has finally thought of the perfect way to stop Dib from interfering. But Dib may find that Zim's plans are the least of his problems…

'_thought'_

"speech"

-0-0- is a scene/character jump

Chapter 8

Dib stared out the window of his ship as he followed Zim's Voot cruiser to the space station the Invader had in orbit. There, he figured, he could decide what he was going to do.

He had no home anymore. He had no family. All he had was his laptop and this ship.

"Dib! I'm talking to you!" Zim's voice penetrated his angsty thoughts.

"Yea?" Dib shot back, too tired to put up much of an argument.

"For ignoring me, the great Zim, I should leave you out here! But you did warn me of the stink-humans coming, and so I will repeat myself just this once!" Zim shook a fist at Dib through his window, and Dib merely raised an antenna back at him. "If you are coming inside, do it now!! Or I will leave you here!"

Dib gave a resigned shrug and piloted his craft into the space station, landing it beside Zim's cruiser.

Entering the space station for maybe the third or so time in his life, Dib stuck his hands in the pockets of his trench coat, leaning back against a wall as Zim pushed some buttons on the computer panel before him. Gir ran around, crying something about tacos and cows.

On a screen above them, the view of the earth suddenly zoomed in to show Zim's empty house, and the Agents swarming it.

"Filthy Earth-beasts, tainting Zim's home with their smell!" Zim muttered under his breath, fiddling with a few more buttons before glancing up again.

The screen changed to show what seemed to be a live broadcast. Dib's dad…the Professor Membrane, was standing by a podium.

"I have to claim responsibility in part of this. If I had not been so involved in my work, maybe my son Dib would not have gotten involved with this alien! But now is a chance for all of man-kind to open their eyes to the stars! If we can find my son, and his friend, I am sure that we can learn new things! Better things! Sure they might suffer, but it's for the good of all earth!"

And the crowd burst into cheers, the reporters snapping their pictures and firing off questions.

Dib was clenching his fists so hard together that his claws were digging into his skin. A picture of him, back when he was still human, was displayed, asking any who saw him to call the Swollen Eye network with details on his location. Dib was lucky they didn't get any pictures of him as he was now.

"Pitiful humans! What kind of parental unit would use one of their own spawn for such things?" Zim shouted, sounding almost indignant. "Humans are disgusting! I can't wait to see this planet destroyed!!"

That brought Dib out of his small depression. "You can't destroy earth!" He cried, running up beside Zim.

"Eh? And why not? Did you not listen?" Zim pointed at the screen where one of the head agents of the Swollen Eye was talking about Dib. "They are ready to do tests on you! Even your father! Your sister turned you in, and you still want to save them?" he was giving Dib a look of complete disbelief.

"I…" Dib sighed, lowering his gaze away from Zim, his antennae flattening. "I don't know…"

"Tch, no worries! For it matters not what you care! Earth will be destroyed!" Zim shook a fist at the ceiling. "I just have to get the Armada here, and then we can go home and I can be respected once more!"

Dib shook his head. Zim might have a home to go to, but what about him? Wait…

"We?" he asked. The Invader gave him a look as if to say he was dense.

"Yes, Dib: we. You are Irken now, and surely see that returning to that…place…will bring about your doom!" Zim pointed again at the screen, but Dib did not look. The pain in his chest was too great for him to want to see it.

"And what am I supposed to do on Irk, eh?" Dib demanded; eyes narrowed. "It's not like I can just up and pretend to be Irken!

"Foolish Dib, I have already come up with a brilliant plan!!" Zim shouted triumphantly. Dib was almost afraid to ask, but couldn't help himself.

"And what is that?" he asked warily.

"We have already told the Tallest about you! The fact that you are not behaving as a true Irken should well be explained! And, in time, you will learn!" Zim proclaimed; striking a pose that he thought must have looked heroic or something.

"What if I don't want to learn, eh? What if I don't want to be a part of this Irken Empire and destroy planets for a living?" Dib asked, amber eyes narrowing.

"Who says you get a choice?" Zim hissed. Dib's eyes widened and he shot towards his ship, towards safety.

He was too slow. Arms pinioned to his side by the robot arms that had come out of the walls, he glared at Zim. Gir, in his usual manner, shrieked with laughter and climbed up to Dib, smiling at him and moving up to sit on his head. Dib was too irritated at other matters to really care about the giggling robot clinging to his antennae.

"What does it matter to you, huh? If I go back to earth and your Armada destroys it, I'll be dead too. So why do you care?" He shouted at the smug Zim, struggling to get free.

"Because, Dib, I cannot contact the Tallest without you. They told me only to do so when I have 'fixed' you. I have not done so, but once they hear that the earth is ready for destruction they will not care!"

"That does not answer why you need me!" Dib protested. "And get off my head, Gir!" The insane robot gave another high pitched giggle before sliding off and running around in circles below him.

"Because I think it's a waste if you are destroyed along with your pitiful Earth!" Zim snapped, surprising Dib into silence. "You, you were a worthy opponent and rival, someone who should be receiving respect from all those stink-beasts, was reduced to a social outcast! On Irk you will be respected! Your talents will not go to waste! But first, you have to learn! You have to be Irken! And I, the grand Zim, will receive the credit for bringing one such as you into the Empire."

Dib was staring at Zim, jaw agape. "You are serious about this? For your own honor and glory are you going to ruin my life?" he gave a violent twist against his bonds.

"Yes. Though your life is already ruined, so you might say I'm improving it. You have no where to go, Dib. No where, but Irk." Zim stated, turning back to his computer panel.

"And how do you plan on making me accept this, Zim? If I am unwilling to learn to be Irken, as you put it, how exactly are you going to make me?" Dib challenged, almost afraid to learn the answer.

"There are ways, Dib. There are ways." Zim hissed, "Now quiet!" he began to punch a few buttons.

"What are you going to tell them?" Dib asked curiously.

"That Earth is ready for destruction!" Zim exclaimed, laughing manically.

Dib growled. There had to be something he could do to stave off Earth's destruction! But what? He was caught, and Zim was already contacting his leaders. What could he do??

He paused, blinking. A slow, wicked grin spread across his face and he had to reign in the urge to laugh wildly at the idea that he had just come up with.

Letting out a loud sigh, and slumping, he looked the picture of resigned defeat. "Fine Zim," he said lowly, attracting the Invader's attention. "You win. Let me down, I'll pretend all you want for your leaders."

"Eh?" Zim eyed him warily, searching for a motive. A trap, maybe. Dib dredged up all the feelings of hate and fear, pain and hurt that Earth and its inhabitants had caused him. He needed this to be convincing.

"I will help you destroy earth," He hissed, eyes narrowing. Zim watched him for a few moments more, before giving a small laugh.

"Computer, release Dib!" Zim barked, and turned back to the screen. "No funny business, Dib. You have to act the part."

-0-0-

Meanwhile, in a random part of the galaxy, Tallest Red and Tallest Purple were celebrating a long period of time without any contact from Zim.

"Maybe he got killed! Killed by an insane Irken believing he was human!" Purple laughed, and Red joined in. It was a funny idea, after all. And ironic.

"Incoming transmission!" One of the subordinates shouted. "From Earth."

"Zim??" Red coughed, swallowing too big a bite of his doughnut. But it was Zim…standing there with the other Irken…what was his name…Dib! Zim, the pest, was standing there with Dib by his side.

"Yes, My Tallest! It is the grand Zim!" Zim proclaimed.

"You weren't supposed to call until –" Purple began to say, before Zim interrupted.

"Until the Dib is cured! But he is, My Tallest!" Zim shouted, pointing at the one next to him.

"Really? He actually did something productive?" Red muttered, leaning forwards.

"Yes! Dib is back to his normal, Irken self." Zim shot a warning glance at Dib at this point, but Dib merely saluted the screen.

"Invader Dib, My Tallest! I apologize for my behavior the last time we spoke!" Dib said smartly, and snickered quietly at Zim's glare.

"Invader? You were an Invader?" Purple asked. "I don't remember an Invader named Dib."

"I was sent on a mission a long time ago, My Tallest. I have been lost for so long…I am not surprised you do not remember me." Dib saluted again, making the story up on the fly and hoping it was believed. From what he had been able to deduce, the Tallest were merely snack-loving Irkens who were leaders only because of their height.

"What happened to stop you from reporting in? And what about your mission?" Red asked, eyes narrowing.

"The planet I was sent to was hit by an asteroid midway through my mission. The planet was destroyed, but I was able to escape before it happened. As for my mission," Dib paused, seeming to think over it. "It could be deemed a success as the planet is utterly destroyed." Dib crossed his claws behind his back in hopes that they will fall for it.

"Well…" Red mused.

"Excellent! Good job then, Invader Dib." Purple exclaimed happily, biting into another doughnut, ignoring his fellow leader. Dib let loose a small sigh of relief.

Zim was staring open-mouthed at Dib, who was giving a triumphant smirk. Dib elbowed Zim, not wanting his reaction to make the Tallest suspicious. Zim hastily composed himself.

"Eh, yes! Yes, because of my awesome genius, Dib is back to his normal self!" Zim exclaimed.

"I MADE MUFFINS!!!" Gir screeched suddenly, popping up between them, a plate of steaming muffins in hand.

"Uh huh…well, good job Zim." Red said, deciding to ignore the faulty robot. "So, on with your mission on Earth, yes?"

"My Tallest, that is another thing I wanted to tell you!" Zim shouted excitedly. "Earth is –"

Dib seized his chance, leaping in and interrupting Zim.

"Earth is nearly defenseless, My Tallest. A few more months, and we shall have the planet ready for you to conquer!" Dib proclaimed, letting loose his best Zim-like cackle.

"That's good news." Purple waved a hand dismissively. "The two of you can finish it up. Don't call us until Earth is vulnerable and ready for us." He made a slicing motion with a hand and the transmission was cut.

"What??" Zim howled as the screen went dark. He spun to face Dib. "Why did you tell them that??"

"Because, Zim," Dib began, hastily formulating an excuse. "The planet is NOT vulnerable yet. There is much more we can do to make it weaker! Do you not want to utterly and completely destroy human life?" 

"Eh? What else is there to do before Earth is defenseless? They are not in any way prepared for an invasion!" Zim's eyes narrowed. Although a lot of his plans and ideas were not the brightest, he was by no means dumb. "I think you are lying to me Dib." He hissed.

Dib blinked, trying to think on how to salvage the situation.

He was saved having to try, however, by Gir leaping up between them again and pointing out the wide window.

"Loooooook Master! It's a ship!"

Both Irkens immediately snapped their gazes to the window.

Indeed, there was a ship there. A light began to blink on the computer before them.

"They're hailing us!" Zim cried, forgetting about their argument and punching buttons. "Gir! Get down!" Gir gave a piercing laugh and leapt off, running to the back of the room and digging a rubber pig out of a pile of scrap.

"Who are they?" Dib asked. The ship was shaped like an ice cream cone sitting on its side, and was a dull blue in color.

"I don't know, but we're about to find out." Zim hissed, eyes narrowed. The screen flickered, and focused to reveal an odd assortment of aliens.

"Who are you to be interrupting the almighty Zim??" Zim demanded, pointing at the ram-horned alien in the captain's chair.

"Aha! I was right! This IS an Irken station!" The captain shouted, turning to an alien standing beside him. "Now we can destroy them!"

"What??" Dib exclaimed.

"You are Irken! Filthy slave drivers! A plague on the galaxy! That is all the Irken Empire is! Well, we found you! And now we'll save this poor planet the fate you have in store for it by destroying you!!" The captain cried, striking a heroic pose on his chair.

"Uh-huh…and who are you?" Dib asked, raising antennae in question. These guys seemed to be bigger fools than Zim.

"We are the Resisty! We are rebelling against the Irken tyrants!"

"The Resisty?" Zim asked, "That's a stupid name!"

"Not just stupid," Dib agreed, "But stupid, stupid!"

The captain growled. "It is not a stupid name! Shoot the Irken invaders already! Destroy them!"

The front of the ice-cream shaped ship began to glow, and a beam shot out and struck the space station, sending it tilting sharply to the side, and alarms began to blare. Dib staggered, trying to keep his balance. Zim toppled over as a screaming Gir ran into him.

"Haha! Shoot the Irken scum!" the captain cheered.

The front of the ship began to glow again.

-0-0-

End Chapter

Now it starts getting interesting!! Muahahahaa!


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: Truthfully, I never would have thought up Invader Zim. So…no, I do not own.

Summary: Zim has finally thought of the perfect way to stop Dib from interfering. But Dib may find that Zim's plans are the least of his problems…

'_thought'_

"speech"

-0-0- is a scene/character jump

Chapter 8

The resulting boom sent the entire station lilting to the side.

"Ack! Dib! We must get to our ships!" Zim cried, grabbing the screaming Gir by the top of his head and taking off towards the door.

"What? Doesn't this place have defenses??" Dib shouted, nearly falling over as another beam made the station rock and he lost his footing, his Pak's spider legs emerging to right him and he skittered towards the door after Zim.

"No! I didn't think we would be attack from space! I had them deactivated, since they wasted power!" Zim answered, also with his spider legs out to help against the rocking of the doomed station. He was now cursing himself for not installing defenses, but it hadn't seemed necessary at the time! 

Reaching his ship, he threw Gir in and leaped in after. Dib came rocketing into the room, his legs skittering and clanking against the shuddering floor. He shot to his ship and threw himself in, starting it up and following Zim and Gir out of the hatch even as the station tilted so far over to the side that things began sliding down.

Staying near Zim's ship, Dib punched several buttons until he had Zim on screen.

"Zim! What are we going to do?" He cried. He was very inexperienced when it came to space battles verses anyone but Zim!

"We are going to get away, stupid Dib!" Zim shouted back, glaring at Dib through the screen. "Patch your ship's computer into mine, and set it for the same coordinates!" Dib's claws flew over his controls, doing as he was told.

Meanwhile, the Resisty turned their attention away from the crippled space station and focused on the two Irken ships that were hastily flying away.

"Retreating??" The captain shouted. "That is not like the so called powerful Irken elite!"

Zim pulled back on his controls, sending his ship to a jarring stop. Dib continued for a few seconds until he spun about and flew up beside the other.

"What is going on?? We are supposed to be flying away, remember?" Dib asked, eyeing the approaching ship anxiously.

"No! They insulted the Irken Empire and the Irken Elite! They must pay!" Zim snarled, his ship shooting forwards towards the much larger ship.

"Argh!" Dib slapped a hand to his forehead, and followed Zim towards the other ship. "Okay…just like one of Gaz's stupid games…" Dib muttered, and he gulped nervously as they approached the large domed window of the Resisty ship rather quickly.

Zim glared as he pressed forwards, seeming to be heading to a front end collision. Dib, not really want to die so stupidly, pulled his controls hard left, making his deep red ship skim the side of the dome, causing several of the aliens inside to dive back in surprise.

Dib looked behind him, expecting to see Zim splattered against the dome, only to see that the other Irken had done the same, and was currently firing his weapons as he flew alongside the right side of the ship.

Deciding that was a good idea, Dib looked about for the weapon controls. Argh, where did Tak put them?? She had them installed, he knew that. "Ship! Activate the weapons! Fire on the ship!" Dib shouted, and heard a low hum as the lasers powered up.

"Argh! Get them!" The Vortian Captain shouted, grabbing the arm of his chair as the smaller ships wrecked havoc upon the larger, less maneuverable, ship. The Resisty's screens suddenly flickered, and all of them displayed Zim's laughing visage. A few flickered out, Zim's head being replaced by Dib's, who merely glared at them instead of laugh.

"Let this teach you a lesson against going against the Irken Empire!" Zim laughed, sending out those purple energy balls that blasted into the side of the ship, sending all inside rocking to the left.

Dib, not about to be outdone by Zim, sent his own into the left side, knocking the ship back towards Zim's ship. He glanced along the ship's side, looking for something that would cripple it.

There! Those looked like engines! Aiming, he sent a volley of all his weapons towards the spot, and was satisfied to see a rather colorful explosion that sent his little ship spinning away.

"Aha!" Zim cackled. "You shall never again desire to face ME! I AM ZIM!" He crowed, and Dib merely shook his head, sending one last glare to the troublesome ship crew before him on screen before turning his ship around to follow Zim's.

"This isn't the end, Irken scum! The Resisty does not give up! You have not seen the last of us! We already have a plan to end Irken tyranny once and for all!" The captain laughed triumphantly.

Dib raised an antenna at them again, "And what plan is that?" he asked, wondering if the aliens were stupid enough to actually tell him.

"Simple, and yet brilliant! We are going to go after the massive! It will chase us and we will lead it into a trap, where all the ships of the rebellion will be waiting to bring it down forever!" with that, the captain began to laugh, and his crew joined in.

"No!" Zim cried. "We have to warn the Tallest!"

"You actually told us?" Dib asked, eyes wide and his usually flat antenna arching up next to his other one in disbelief.

"What?? Oh no! They know of our plan! They must to be destroyed!" The captain commanded, pointing at the two hovering ships.

"Captain, our left engine has been destroyed! We can only move half speed!" A small, centipede-like alien cried, pointing at a display monitor.

Zim's ship sped off; Dib's following closely, leaving behind the captain's shouts of outrage.

"Now what are we going to do?" Dib asked Zim, leaning back and sighing as he watched the stars whiz by. His ship was on auto-follow on Zim's, so he didn't have much to do other than stare into space. Watching stars zoom by was interesting only for a while. Every now and then Dib would forget his boredom and marvel at a galaxy in the distance, or a quasar or black hole.

"We are going to warn the Tallest, of course!" Zim shot back, pushing Gir off his head. "We can't let them be lured into a trap by those stupid rebellious stink-beasts!"

Dib sighed, leaning back again and starting a mahjong game on his laptop, which he plugged had into his ship control panel. He began to muse over what his choices were.

On one hand, if he helped Zim save the Tallest from their doom, he would be leaving the universe open to conquest by the Irken Empire. That was bad. But if he did not help them, he himself stood a chance of being destroyed for being Irken.

He couldn't go back to Earth, or at least to the people he knew. If he went back, he would be living in complete solitude and isolation, among people he didn't know and who disgusted him about as much as his own classmates did, he would be living a lonely life, unable to get close for fear of being discovered.

If he stayed with Zim, the only person who offered him a margin of respect, he would be able to keep an eye on the Invader, and maybe sabotage his plans subtly. He also would have someone to at least be himself around, and there was never a shortage of entertainment with Zim and Gir.

So…conclusion…it was more worth Dib's time to stay with Zim. That could also mean he was going to have someone to at least talk to, compared to the outcast existence he would receive on earth, and the constant threat of discovery.

Heaving another sigh, he finished up the mahjong game and focused on Zim's image.

"Can't you call the Tallest and let them know about it?" Dib asked. He was not looking forward to actually facing the Irken leaders. He may look Irken, but he didn't really know how to act Irken.

"No. The long-distance transmissions on my ship are faulty, probably damaged in the Resisty attack." Zim said. "And yours are not able to reach that far. Tak must not have upgraded to the newer transmission model."

"What…how do you know that about my ship?" Dib demanded. If Zim had been fiddling around with his ship…

"Silly Dib, I ran a scan to see if you could once I found out I can't. Now, be silent and let us go home to warn them of this devious plot!" Zim shouted, and glared as Gir cheered piercingly behind him.

Five galaxies, two comets, and untold number of stars went by before anyone spoke again, not including Gir's singing and chattering.

"We are nearing where the Massive was last transmitting from!" Zim said, a few hours later. "I'm going to see if I can send a call now, we should be in range for the short-range transmitters!"

-0-0-

"Incoming transmission!"

"From who?" Red asked, feeling a sense of foreboding.

"Zim, My Tallest." The pilot answered.

"My Tallest!" Zim's face came on screen at that moment.

"Ah, Zim! What do you want now?" Purple moaned, rubbing his head. He felt a head ache coming on.

"You are in danger, My Tallest! The Resisty plan on luring the Massive into a trap where all the ships of the rebellion will take you down!" Zim cried out, waving his arms around to get his point across.

"Are you serious?"

"Is this a joke?" Red asked, eyes narrowing.

"No, sirs. It is not a joke!" The screen showing Zim's head split in two, one side showing Zim and the other Dib.

"Oh, ah…Invader…Dib." Purple greeted, grabbing a new bag of doughnuts.

"Yes, My Tallest!" Dib saluted the screen. "Zim is telling the truth! We learned this from a Resisty captain after we crippled their ship. The rebellion is indeed planning on luring you into a trap!"

"Well, ah…we'll keep on the look out then." Purple said, waving them off. Zim was a moron, and that Dib seemed just plain insane.

"Where are you at, Zim?" Red asked suddenly, eyes narrowed. Judging by the screen, Zim was near Irken ships, if the ships visible out the front dome of his ship was any indicator…but to be near Irken ships he had to be…

"Right outside your ship, My Tallest." Zim replied, a tad bit smugly.

"What? Why are you here? Why couldn't you just tell us from Earth?" Purple cried, sharing a look of distress with his fellow leader. Zim was here…doom, doom for all the Armada!

"My long range transmitter is damaged, and Dib's has not been online and needs repairs as well. So the only way to warn you was to come to you!" Zim said proudly. His Tallest are surely impressed with his devotion!

"Well, uh…" Purple cast about, trying to devise a way to get rid of the pest before he caused destruction to the entire Armada and its plan of galactic conquest.

"Well, then you two should put into one of the repair bays and get your ships fixed!" Red exclaimed, and Purple gaped at him. "I'll send notification that you two get first priority on your ships, and the best mechanics possible!" 

"Really?" Dib asked, raising an antenna. This was surprising, considering what he had seen of the Tallests' opinion on Zim. Zim, however, was not surprised, taking it all in stride that this was what he deserved.

"Yes! Your mission on Earth is…uh…very important! You need to be back there to finish your mission!" Purple added, catching on to the idea that Red had concocted.

"Thank you, My Tallest!" Zim saluted. He turned his ship and began heading towards the repair bay, Dib following.

As they came around the side of the large flag ship of the Irken Armada, Dib's eyes snapped open wide and his antennae stood nearly straight up in shock. He had been so taken with the sight of the Massive that he hadn't looked anywhere else as soon as it had come into sight…but this…

The entire window of his ship was filled from one end to the other of a cloud of red, pink, and purple. The Irken Armada was larger than he had ever thought…there had to be thousands, tens of thousands, of ships! Single pilot ships all the way to the Massive, which could house hundreds. Dib shook his head slowly…Earth did not stand a chance…

The Massive soon blocked the view as the two came up to one of the side hatches, which opened when they got close.

Piloting his ship into the large hanger, and landing beside Zim's, Dib was caught up in what was happening.

Jumping out and looking around excitedly, Dib noticed that the hanger was mostly empty except for one other ship. It was parked nearby, resting on four legs that looked like enlarged, thicker versions of the Pak legs. The same dark maroon color that the majority of the Irken ships were, it was currently be worked on by a small robot that looked like Gir only with green parts where Gir had blue.

"It looks like a crawfish," Dib remarked, and Zim snickered. Standing near the ship was an Irken female who wore the crimson pilot outfit that covered the lower half of her face. It reminded Dib a lot of his father's lab coat. Thinking about his father brought up things he didn't want to think about right now, so he shoved the thoughts into the back of his mind.

"It looks different than all the other ships," Dib noted.

"It is a fighter pilot ship," Zim explained.

"Fighter pilot?" Dib asked.

"Hmph. They hunt down enemy ships." Zim said, waving a hand to dismiss the subject.

"They get little robots too?" Dib pointed to said robot that was apparently reattaching several wires into the belly of the ship.

"Eh, not the same. Gir is a SIR. Standard Information Retrieval unit. They're given to Invaders to help them with their mission. Fighter pilots, however, get TEM units. Since they chase down enemy ships, they are away from the Armada for long periods of time, and if their ship gets damaged they need someone to repair it. The TEM is used for that." Zim said, figuring he might as well try and educate Dib on the glorious Irken Empire.

"TEM?"

"Technical Engineer Mechanic," Zim explained. "Inferior to the SIR unit, useful only in fixing things and has minor defenses. Now! Enough of that! We have more important things to do!"

"Where are we going?" Dib asked, trying to contain his excitement as they left the hanger.

Zim laughed. "We're going to go meet the Tallest!"

-0-0-

End Chapter

So…yea…I selfishly inserted my OC in here, but this is probably going to be the only mention of her, and I couldn't resist to! Haha…Jynn the Fighter Pilot, Bane of the Resisty and all enemy ships to the Empire. And her little robot Tem…I like him too. Tem is my creation! It makes sense to me…Anyways, if you go to my Deviantart page again, (search Sirithiliel) she is in my gallery as well. :D I like her ship too…go look at the pic! It's perty!


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: Truthfully, I never would have thought up Invader Zim. So…no, I do not own.

Summary: Zim has finally thought of the perfect way to stop Dib from interfering. But Dib may find that Zim's plans are the least of his problems…

'_thought'_

"speech"

-0-0- is a scene/character jump

Chapter 10

Heading through the confusing hallways, presumably towards the area where the Tallest were, Dib couldn't keep his face stoic like those he passed, too caught up in being inside such a great alien vessel.

They reached a door that was guarded by two semi-tall Irken, or at least they were taller than Zim or Dib.

They were let in with minimal hassle, and then Zim strode into the room with Dib following behind, glancing around at the grand room. It appeared to be a type of refreshment place. Large windows showed a grand view of some planet that the Irken armada was apparently invading at the moment. It was a beautiful planet, with oceans of purple and rose-and-pink clouds swirling about. Well, it was beautiful until you got to the part of the planet where the Irken ships were busy at. There, beams of energy from their weapons tore through the pastel clouds and charred the scarlet-purple earth below in ugly black lines.

Turning his gaze away from the windows, he noticed a large screen where, presumably, calls for the Tallest could be received. Tables were set up and reclining chairs around some, stools around others. There were Irkens in Invader uniforms relaxing around, sipping drinks being delivered by incredibly short Irkens with what seemed to be serving trays on their heads.

The Tallest were watching the view out the window when Zim walked up to them and saluted.

"Greetings, my Tallest!."

Dib merely inclined his head.

"Ah…Zim! Uh…how goes your ship-repairs?" Purple asked, spinning around and glancing about wildly. The lesser Irkens that were drinking around the tables were unashamedly watching the scene with obvious interest.

"Very good, my Tallest!" Zim responded, giving a wicked grin. "Soon we shall be ready to go and destroy the humans once and for all!"

"Wonderful! I hope you are ready to leave immediately. And soon." Purple flinched as Red elbowed him.

"So that you can…uh…take Earth for our Empire, as important as it is for us! Yeah…um, we need you to be underway as soon as possible!" Red said frantically, hoping Zim was still too self-absorbed to notice Purple's mistake.

It seems he was, as he strutted and preened under the attention. Dib, however, noticed, and narrowed his eyes at his 'superiors'.

"While you're here waiting, uh…why don't you get a drink or snack or something." Red suggested, and as Zim's eyes widened in happiness at the thought of snacks, Red muttered under his breath "until you can leave…"

Once again, Dib caught the mutter and the undertone of distaste and intense dislike in the words aimed at Zim's back.

Shrugging, but storing the information away for future use if needed, Dib gave one last wary look at the two taller Irkens before following Zim to one of the tables. (which emptied of others rather quickly when Zim sat down.)

The snacks and drinks were, surprisingly, quite similar to Earth's. Dib hesitantly tasted his selected drink, blinking at the odd flavor. It tasted like someone had mixed watermelon with mango and added a pinch of…vanilla? Oookay then.

At long last (for Dib, who was uncomfortable being stared at by the other Irken in the room) and none too soon (for the Tallest), a Irken dressed in the outfit of a mechanic walked in and announced that Zim's and Dib's ships were done and ready to go.

It really was surprising at the speed at which the two were hustled out of the room and into the hanger, practically thrown into their ships and pushed out the doors.

Zim whooped as he sped off, Dib's ship following close behind. Dib had to give it to the mechanics who had worked on their ships. Not only was everything in perfect working order, running smoothly and all, but the hull of the ships was shining brightly, well polished and all scratches and dents repaired. The console and buttons, levers, knobs, and all other gadgets upon them sparkled as if they were new.

Dib ran a admiring hand over his ships controls. He glanced up, looking off into the vastness of space, the stars flying by, planets, comets, asteroids, moons, and everything he's ever dreamed of, looked at on tv, read about, and wished to see, right here in front of him.

Sighing, he rested his chin on one hand, looking longingly past the stars. What would he give to be back there, to be that little boy who stared up at the sky from the roof of his house, wishing to be among them?

Now he was among them…and he was not enjoying it as much as he wished he could. Too many things weighed upon his mind and heart.

-0-0-

"Finally!" Purple cheered, and the Irkens sitting around the tables cheered along with him. "Zim is gone!"

Red laughed, taking a drink from one of the servers. "Back to Earth, and out of our way."

"He still believes that he is an Invader, and that planet of his is actually important to the Armada." Purple snickered, shaking his head.

"A moron, that is what he is." Red agreed.

"And the other one is insane." Purple put in. "One insane Invader, one moronic Invader. And what do you get?"

"You put them together, and maybe you get a actual Invader!" Red finished, and the room echoed with their laughter, the chuckles of their lackeys forming a chorus to it.

-0-0-

"There it is!" Zim cried, pointing out his windshield. "Earth! I can almost smell the humans, how disgusting they are! Soon they will bow and call me master!" Zim said, eyes narrowing and a nasty smile cutting across his face.

Dib narrowed his eyes as well, his look softening as he beheld the swirling white clouds and crystal blue oceans of his home…of Earth.

Earth…yes, home.

No matter what he said to Zim, Earth was his home.

"Home…" Dib mused aloud, and Zim's gloating stopped at the word.

"What did you say?" The Invader asked lowly, eyes darkening at the implications of what Dib was saying.

"Earth is my home. I can not destroy it." He looked up at Zim, eyes challenging. "And neither shall you."

"You foul, ungrateful, scheming little worm!" Zim screeched. "You lied! You tricked me! Well, Dib, you shall pay! Go then, go to the filthy beasts who care nothing for you! You will see that I am right, and when you do, I will make sure you pay for this treachery!"

Dib glared one last time, punching buttons and sending his ship down through the puffy clouds and into the sky above his home town.

Home…

Home and his family.

-0-0-

Sorry! Indeed, really, truly I am sorry! I have hit a writer's block on this, and I'm really trying to figure out where the story is going. I like this story, and I will finish it, no fear. It will not die! I shall not let it die: ) anyways, another, if short, chapter for your reading pleasure. Hope I can figure out where it's going soon.


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: Truthfully, I never would have thought up Invader Zim. So…no, I do not own.

Summary: Zim has finally thought of the perfect way to stop Dib from interfering. But Dib may find that Zim's plans are the least of his problems…

'_thought'_

"speech"

-0-0- is a scene/character jump

Chapter 11

Dib slipped into the window of his bedroom. Everything was the same, nothing had been moved or touched. Dust coated everything, giving evidence to how much time has passed since he had last been here. With a heavy sigh, Dib carefully made his way towards his door. If he could just talk to father, maybe he could get transformed back and go on with his life! He had to convince the Professor, had to remind him that he was his son! He was family!

Resolute, Dib walked through the dark hallway and down towards where the usual sounds of his father working in the lab echoed up the basement stairs.

"You're back,"

Dib froze, turning around slowly.

Gaz stood there, arms crossed. She examined her brother through narrowed eyes. Still an alien, the flickering lights of the TV glinting off his amber eyes. Still dressed in his usual outfit, the trench coat a little ragged on the edges and a long rip going down one sleeve.

As Dib began babbling something about family and possible ways to reverse his transformation, she added another observation to the rest.

Still annoying.

"Gaz, please! I'm sure dad can find a way to fix this! He'll help me!" Dib pleaded; antennae flat against his head as he tried to make his sister see sense.

"You don't get it, do you Dib? Dad does not care. He sees you as an experiment. The same way he saw me as an experiment when you put that pig curse on me," She all but spat the last words, and Dib flinched as he remembered that time. "As for me, you better be grateful that I'm being as kind as I am! If dad had his way, you would be on the autopsy table and not just contained for research and observation." She reminded.

"But…dad can fix this…" Dib protested.

"Dad doesn't want to fix you. He enjoyed the fact that he was the first person to get credit for actual alien findings, even if you weren't there in person. No one would refute him when he said he had an alien. This time, however, he probably will go public with you." Gaz remarked, opening a can of cola and sipping it.

"This time?" Dib repeated, eyes widening farther before narrowing slightly.

"You really think he is going to try and help you? I saw his notes. Your DNA is completely alien. There is nothing human about you left! So: no way to turn you back into a human. Even if there was, I doubt he would try to help you. Father is a scientist first, a scientist second, and a father last." Gaz said, glaring at her brother.

"I'm his son…he wouldn't…Gaz! I'm your brother! How can you just write me off and let me get poked and gawked at by scientists??" He demanded, stepping forwards and pointing an accusing claw at her.

"How can I? I had the same thing happen to me! And YOU were the cause of it!" She shouted back.

"Then you know what I will go through! How can you just let that happen? And besides, I helped you out of there!" Dib growled; eyes narrowing.

"No matter, Dib. You don't realize the extent of how long I've tried to get rid of you and your taint upon my life!" Gaz said darkly.

"What do you mean?" Dib blinked.

"Remember the PEG incident?" She asked, sipping more of her cola.

"Yea…" Dib's eyes widened. "Zim had been using the Dib-Spy robot…but you destroyed it."

"Yes. And it would have been YOU that I had destroyed, if it hadn't been a robot. I really was trying to do it, too. I could've just said you had an accident down there. But no, you got lucky." Gaz explained to her horrified brother.

"You…you were going to kill me??" He gasped, disbelief written all over his expression.

"Yes. And then there was that time you got captured by Zim. I was all for letting you die by his hands and going out for pizza with dad. Too bad dad said you had to be there." Gaz remarked, counting on her fingers. "And then when you got abducted by those moronic aliens, I was hoping you wouldn't get away. But you did."

"If you want me dead so much, then why don't you just let dad do his autopsies??" Dib shouted, not caring that he might be dooming himself by saying so.

"Even I have to admit the wrongness of dad killing his own son, no matter how weird his son is, by dissecting him as an experiment." she took a deep breath, letting it out and seeming to relax a bit from her angry stance.

Dib shook his head. He couldn't believe it…all this time, he knew Gaz didn't really like him…but to have the full extent of her hate was startling.

"Anyways, I think it's time dad found out you are home again. I'm sure he'll be sooooo happy that you came back." Gaz said, giving a smirk that sent chills up Dib's spine. "DAD!!!" She shouted, louder than ever. "DIB IS BACK!!!"

Dib cringed as footsteps sounded up the stairs, and the lab door burst open to reveal Professor Membrane.

"Dib!" he strode forward, eyeing his alien-son. "You did come back…"

"Dad…please…don't lock me up…we can fix this, I know we can!" Dib pleaded, eyes wide. If only his father would see that he was his son, even if he looked different! And that it was wrong for a father to experiment on his son!

"Sure thing, son. Let's go down to the labs, and I will see what I can do." Professor Membrane said, but the expression behind his goggles made his intent clear.

He wanted to begin his research upon Dib once more.

Dib did not have much of a chance to escape, as the house defenses sent down a claw that quickly grasped Dib, pulling him after his father down to the lab.

Gaz stood at the top of the stairs, finishing up her cola and crushing the can.

"No autopsies, dad." She reminded him firmly, before turning about to go back to the living room, flicking through the channels once more.

-0-0-

Dib glared at his father – no, not his father. Not anymore. Dib's eyes narrowed. He'll find a way out of here…he will! He'll figure out what to do afterwards, but first he had to worry about getting free.

They hadn't put him in a cell this time, oh no. They weren't going to have another escape. Now he was in a tube filled with a thick green liquid, one that Dib had always imagined Zim being contained in. Now it was him being held in one. He couldn't break lose the same was as before, he could barely get enough leverage to do anything as he floated in the substance.

The Professor and his assistants walked around outside the tube in the labs, their voices muffled and their images distorted by the thick, curved walls of the tube. Dib was prodded and poked, given electrical shocks that had him screaming. X-rays were used to view his skeleton and wires read his vitals and brain impulses.

Dib fell into a state of semi-depression. He had fallen for it. He had escaped once, and then went right back into the trap. He had abandoned Zim, when the other Irken had merely helped him. Granted, he still didn't like Zim, but now that he had offended him and took off, he probably is on his own from now on.

Soon he was moved to Professor Membrane's main lab, and he heard rumors that he was soon going to make an appearance on the Professor's show. If that happened…he would have so much publicity as the first ever captured alien…he would find it nearly impossible, or just downright impossible, to escape.

Days turned into weeks, and Dib found no rest from the constant experiments and 'scientific observations'. It was torture, to be blunt. He was caused pain in the name of science, he barely had enough to eat, and he had gone days without sleep, too afraid of the nightmares that were taking over his few hours of rest.

He took to staring out at nothing, retreating into his own mind as the countless terrors of his waking and sleeping moments, of his entire life at this point, drove him into a daze of memories. He refused to register the majority of what was going on outside his prison, instead reflecting on the better moments of his past, the times where life was bearable: he was human, his family life had not been shattered, and Zim was still the enemy and not becoming the only person that showed an ounce of concern over his well-being.

He remembered school, the awful class-mates, being picked on, and trying to expose Zim. The good times…the times where he had a mission in life, a goal to complete. He was working for the good of the Earth, and when the time came for the people he was saving to realize what he had done for them, he would be picked on no longer…he would be a hero, and Zim would be the first alien to be captured alive.

Now it was different. Earth didn't care; Earth would rather pretend nothing was going on. His family was dead, to his mind and heart. They betrayed him, caused him pain emotionally and physically. The people he had tried so hard to save were now the ones destroying his life and spirit by locking him up and using him for 'science'. Zim was not the enemy anymore, but instead had become something close to a friend, if such a thing could be said. He cared, at least a little. He respected Dib for who he was, he saluted Dib's efforts to save the Earth, where everyone else called him crazy and hurt him for it.

No, his world of memories was more comforting than real life.

Gaz stopped by, every now and then. She said things, but he didn't hear comprehend what she said. He saw her mouth move, her hands make gestures…but he couldn't understand. It was muffled and almost as if she was speaking another language. He would just stare at her with vacant eyes, focusing on a point past her shoulder and looking through her as she spoke.

It had been this way for four days after he had been brought into the main labs, when he realized just how serious his predicament was. The Professor was not going to come to his senses and let Dib out, Gaz was not going to have a change of heart, and Zim was not going to come to the rescue, too busy with his world domination.

So he continued to turned his attention inwards, burying himself in happier memories and blocking out what was going on outside his little world. Anger and hurt was all he could feel when he saw anyone outside his tube, especially Gaz and the Professor. Soon, hurt was gone, replaced by utter loathing and hate. THEY caused him this pain! THEY caused him this loneliness, this utter feeling of hopelessness and despair! They will pay, oh they will pay!

But, stuck in a tube, it seemed he would never get the opportunity to get away. The blinding rage that infused him soon disappeared as well, hiding in a back corner of his mind, waiting for any chance to be free. Soon he showed nothing, not hate, or hurt, or rage, or despair…all he did was stare through half-lidded eyes, stare into the nothingness beyond his prison.

Three weeks after he had been recaptured, and four days before he was to be shown to the public, something different happened than was usual on these routine nights.

The lab was closed, shut down for the night. Few lights were on, and Dib was staring vacantly at a distant spot on the opposite wall, the blinking of a fire alarm/smoke detector. This was usual, this is how it had been for three weeks.

So the sudden hissing as the lab doors opened caught his attention and drew him from his memory-world, bringing him to reality and back to the present, at least for a few moments. A man in a lab coat walked in, moving in a funny, stiff manner.

At the sight of him, amber eyes that were once half-lidded and distant were suddenly narrowed menacingly and glinted with anger, shining brightly in the light from the open doors.

The scientist walked up to Dib's tube, peering up at him through glazed eyes. The man looked out of it, staring vacantly like Dib had been doing moments before. Suspicious, Dib watched every move the man made. This was one of the Professor's assistants, one of the main scientists below the famous Professor Membrane.

He helped with the torturous experiments that had been done on Dib.

The man reached out and punched in his access number, and then proceeded to type in his password to access the main controls on the tube holding Dib prisoner. He began to enter commands, and Dib tensed, prepared for the worst. Why was he here so late at night?

Dib nearly jumped out of his skin when the liquid in his tube began to drain, and he suddenly felt solid metal beneath his feet. Oddly enough, the liquid slid completely off him, and didn't soak into his clothes as he thought it would. Oh well, means he didn't have to deal with the issues of being wet and leaving a trail when he escaped.

The scientist entered another command, and Dib watched curiously as the front of the tube slid open, allowing Dib to exit. But he didn't, too wary and cautious to just leap right out. What was the scientist planning? Why was he doing this?

With the absence of the tube walls to muffle sounds, Dib suddenly realized that the scientist was muttering something under his breath. Stepping carefully out of his prison, Dib listened closely as he scanned his surroundings for any sign of a trap.

"Let alien out…Master said to…wait…I said to…" the man was completely out of it, stumbling back and heading back to the door. "More tacos…I need more tacos." And he walked out, leaving Dib standing there in confusion.

What was he talking about, with the master said to and he said to?

Deciding to puzzle it out later, Dib took off through the dark labs, having no problem seeing in the dark, as his eyes were far superior to how they used to be and he had been in the dark for so long in the labs.

Finding a window, Dib brought out a spider leg from his long-unused Pak and shattered it, but luckily no alarms sounded.

Climbing out, Dib landed and glanced about, wondering what he should do now. He stood out quite a bit…wait! He had hidden the holographic projector in his Pak! But by now everyone would know him…so…

His Pak opened and a metal appendage came out, handing him the projector. He took it and rolled it over in his hands, letting it dangle and spin from its chain, watching as the street lights glinted off of it.

Nobody noticed Zim and his awful disguise, or Gir and his obviously fake doggy suit. So…if he activated the disguise and made a few minor changes…maybe they won't notice? The people of this place were so blind…it could just work.

Slipping it around his neck and pushing the buttons to activate it, he decided he'd just risk his luck. He looked into a nearby window to see how well he looked, and frowned when he saw his outfit.

His clothes were by now ragged and torn, both from his space trip and the time in the tube. He had better get new ones. But all his clothes were in his room…should he risk sneaking in?

Why not? It's not as if Gaz would be expecting him, and the Professor was probably out doing something or down in the house labs.

With new determination, and more aware of his surroundings than he had been in three weeks, Dib took off in the direction of his old home.

-0-0-

Climbing up to his window was easy, and silently forcing his window open was as simple as it had always been. He was thankful for all the times he had snuck out to go face Zim, since now he was quite experienced with all the noisy things in his room, and knew how to open his window without a sound.

Slipping inside and changing clothes hastily, he debated packing some more but decided to use only his backpack, as it was small and wouldn't weigh him down. Piling more clothes into it, as well as a few keepsakes like his X-scope goggles and such, he pulled on his only other trench coat and hid his old clothes in the closet, taking off out of the window again.

His ship should still be where he left it. He had hidden it where no one would think of looking, and no one was likely to stumble across it. He ran to the mall, careful to keep to the more deserted parts of the road as cars went by and one or two people were out walking.

With as blind as people were here, Dib had hidden his ship in plain sight, and yet it was masterfully disguised.

There! The Odd Emporium, largest store selling sci-fi and paranormal items in town. Dib used to go there all the time, browsing for new things to use against Zim. This is where he bought his Crop Circle magazines. They sold all sorts of stuff on aliens, big foot, the Loch Ness monster, you name it. If it was a monster or unnatural phenomenon, it was here somewhere.

The most notable part of the store, however, was the space-ships built on top, gaudily painted and decorated. No one ever noticed one extra ship appearing in the midst of the others, this one being a bit less bright in color and different in design.

Glancing around to make sure no one was nearby, Dib activated his Pak legs and skittered up the wall, making his way over to his ship. Opening it up and jumping in, he typed in the access codes that he had installed to prevent anyone from stealing his ship.

With a happy chime, the ships computer panel turned on, showing the Irken icon. Dib still hadn't figured out how to get rid of it, and now he could care less. Statistics and information ran across the screen, some of it in the Irken language. Dib had learned how to read it while flying with Zim to warn the Massive, so he didn't have any trouble understanding it.

The ship was in full working order, nothing had been bothered or even noticed while it had been up here, and it was flight capable and ready to go.

Dib began working controls, pushing buttons and entering commands into the ship, and with a low hum it began to lift off the roof of the store and hovered for a moment, before gaining more height and speed.

As the ship progressed higher and higher the lights of Dib's old town became smaller and smaller, until he was up into the higher atmosphere.

It was when he got out of Earth's atmosphere and into actual space that Dib breathed a sigh of relief. He rested his head in his hands, eyes clenched shut. He was free. They couldn't get him out here, they didn't have the technology.

But even though he was free from the labs, he was not free from his emotions. The hurt was there, pressing against his mind trying to demand his attention. But it was too painful to think about, to think about Gaz or dad…

The anger and hate was there, though, much stronger than the hurt. Despair was also pressing in, and he was close to breaking down. There really was no where to go. Sure, he had gone through this the last time he had escaped from the labs, but then he still had hope he could return and get changed back and resume his life. He had hope, back then. He had a mission: he was going to keep stopping Zim, and resume his life when he figured out a cure.

But now…no cure, no family…there was no hope. No one cared. Gaz wanted a life without Dib, Professor Membrane wanted his science and experiments, and Zim wanted to conquer and destroy Earth. The people of Earth wanted to remain oblivious to their imminent doom, and Dib was so confused as to what he wanted.

He wanted his old life back, his human life, his normal life of chasing big foot and spying on Zim. But that was impossible. There was no way he could go back. What options were open to him now? Wander the galaxy, homeless and friendless, until he died? Join Zim in his quest and destroy Earth? Become what the Tallest thought he was? An Invader?

That one had merit in the fact that he wouldn't be alone; he would have a goal in life again. He would be respected; he could have a semi-friend in Zim. But…was it right? It had moral drawbacks. He would be living a life of enslaving and destroying other races, of conquering planets.

Could he live with that?

Reaching orbit around Earth, Dib sat back and mused over his situation. He really did not know what to do. His desire for respect and acceptance warred with his moral issues and beliefs. He felt it was wrong to do that to other races, but…if the Irkens are the only ones that would show him respect and companionship, and actually treat him decently, why bother saving those who didn't? What did he owe the people of Earth? All they had done to him was give him a life of abuse and neglect, and then when he became even more different from them, they set about to experiment and study him, with no regards to his health or feelings.

For all he knew, Zim would just kill him for Dib leaving him like he did.

It was so confusing!

Dib sighed, opening his eyes and regarding the stars outside absently. There was Orion…and the moon…and Zim's station…

Wait…Dib blinked, snapping his gaze back to the space station. When he had last seen it, it had been tilting crazily to one side and horribly damaged from the Resisty attack…now it was as clean and polished as it had been before.

Zim fixed it? Well, that made sense. The Invader still had a mission, and he couldn't have his base anymore.

As Dib was musing over this, little did he know that he was being watched by the same person he was thinking about.

-0-0-

Zim frowned, tapping a claw against the computer counsel. His latest plan had gone off without a hitch, since there was no Dib to interfere. The human-made-Irken had taken off and left Zim once they had reached Earth.

Zim scowled as he thought about it, remembering back. He couldn't believe that the Dib still wanted to try and live his old life! He did not realize how good he had it now! He was Irken, he was superior! He had a career as an Invader ahead of him, something he would be good at if any of the experiences Zim had with him were any indicator. He had the mind for it.

But no! He up and ran off, trying a second time to fit in with a family and a world that didn't want him! He left ZIM!

Well, Zim knew he could have better. Dib had been a nuisance, but he had also been a worthy opponent. Now that he was not interfering with Zim's plans, he wasn't really a nuisance or an opponent. No, now he could be something more. He could be a partner, a fellow Invader, in Earth's downfall.

The Dib just had to realize that he was better off with the Irken Empire than with the inferior beings of this dirt planet.

But Zim knew the other Irken was realizing it. Spending three weeks in that awful human lab, held captive by his own parental unit, surely would grind in the fact that he was unwanted there and his life was meaningless if he didn't accept the facts: he was meant to be an Irken Invader.

So, Zim had decided to give his once-time enemy a hand. He'll forgive the fact that Dib ran off headlong into the trap set by the humans.

The orange mind-controlling nano-bots that Zim had made, or the pixie stick stuff as Gir named it, had been successfully recreated after the first failure. Zim had made more, and made extra this time, and he had finally been able to introduce it into the fast-food restaurants. The tacos, hamburgers, and chicken of this town now contained the mind-controlling nano-bots.

And one specific scientist who worked under Professor Membrane had an unhealthy liking for tacos. Zim had used this to his advantage, making this human the first test subject to his new nano-bots.

It had gone without a problem. Another victory for Zim! The pitiful human had freed the Dib, just as he was told. There was a small problem where he didn't quite think it was his own idea, but that was soon solved by a little more forceful commands from the nano-bots.

Now the Dib was free. What he did now was up to him.

To see Dib's ship suddenly fly up and begin to orbit was not a surprise to Zim. He was quite pleased to say the truth. Now all he had to do was get Dib onto the space station, keep him here and out of trouble, while Zim's plan reached its peak! And then, when the humans of this town rioted and began to terrorize the normal population, Zim would call the Tallest and the Armada would come.

Come and destroy all of Earth and humanity!

But first, he had to get Dib in a place where he could keep an eye on him and keep him out of the way.

-0-0-

Look! An update!!

So yea…I fell into the norm and made Dib join Zim. Why? Because I can't think of any other way for this story to end, unless Dib dies lol.

Anyways, here's a belated chapter for those who still will read it lol.


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